Pulling Me Through Part Three
by Baby You're My Immortal
Summary: Andy Six and Riley are planning the wedding and a new face is arriving onto the scence. It's Bailey's nephew, Alex and someone's romance is on the rocks. **COMPLETE**
1. Chapter 1

Pulling Me Through Part Three

**Well, welcome to part three of the four part series. This will take place ten months after Zane was born. So, it's December 10****th**** 2013. I don't think there's that much else to say apart from that I hope that everyone enjoys and please drop a few reviews!**

**Lyrics: Who'd have thought that after all, something as simple as rock 'n' roll could save us all?  
**

Chapter One

Riley's POV

I sat with Savannah on the sofa, watching her play with her little brother. Her brown hair was wrapped in a small plait and she wore a pair of combats and a t-shirt very similar to the type of clothes that my Mom used to dress me in. She could speak quite well now and her walking was excellent. It was at that moment that Andy came downstairs with a smile on his face. He had been feeling even more cheerful lately because he knew that there wasn't going to be long before the break was over and he would go out touring again.

"Hey, Ry" He greeted. "Planning the wedding?" Several bits of paper were scattered over the coffee table and my phone was there too.

"Yeah, it was just a catering company" I sighed. "They can't do it." We had just started planning a few days ago because we had wanted to wait until Zane was a little older and we weren't suffering from sleepless nights. Looking after a new born and planning a wedding would have been way more stress than I could handle.

"That's another one that's cancelled on us?" He asked as I nodded. "Damn, planning weddings is a lot harder than I thought." He took a seat next to Savannah and pulled her onto his lap.

"Well, it'll be worth it when we get married" I sighed as I leaned back. "How about we just go for a simple wedding?" Andy's face contorted with thought for a moment before he answered me.

"Why don't we have a garden wedding?" He asked. It was exactly what my Mom and Dad had done when I was four. Even though I was very young, I could still remember the day perfectly. The sun had been beating down and my Mom looked beautiful in her dress. She had trusted me to carry the train and even let Jake carry the rings. It had been one of the best days of my life.

"That would be brilliant. We could invite a few people and do out the garden and have it there. Oh, Andy it would be excellent" I answered as I peered around to look at the garden. It had never really been used. An old tree house stood in the corner, the grass was overgrown and there was a decking with a few seats on. This could definitely work if we just put a little bit of effort into it.

"We should make the guest list and then we'll be done for the day" Andy laughed as he pulled a piece of paper from the coffee table and began to write. "Okay, so there'll be Jake, Scout, Jinxx, Sammi, Ashley, Bailey, Sandra, CC, Natasha, James, Savannah, Zane and Mark"

"That is the shortest guest list I have ever seen" I complained. "I suppose we brought it on ourselves by being so anti-social."

"Well, we could always invite James and Laura from our old band in high school" Andy suggested. It had been at least a year since I had last spoken to them and I really missed them. They had been my best friends ever since I was nine, but it was hard to keep in touch with anyone now. When you have two kids and a wedding to plan, friends start to become insignificant.

"Yeah, do you still have their number?" I asked as I reached into the pocket of my jeans to see if I had it. "I've got the number that they gave me last year, but they might've got new phones and a new number."

"Well, it's worth a try" Andy sighed as I dialled the number and pressed the phone to my ear. After two rings, a female voice answered.

"Hello?" She asked. She hadn't looked at the caller ID. Her voice sounded familiar, but I couldn't place who she was.

"Hey, Is James there?" I asked. "This is his number, yeah?"

"Yeah, it is" She answered. "Who's calling?"

"It's Riley Pitts" I answered. Oh, conversations over the phone were always so awkward.

"Oh, hey, Riley" She greeted. "It's Laura. James and I are dating now."

"Ah, hey, Laura" I replied. "That's great! I'm glad somebody made it." Most of the kids from high school were working in bars or supermarkets and a lot of them were probably tweaked out. James and Laura were different. "Listen, I was ringing to ask you if you wanted to go to mine and Andy's wedding. We'll send invitations out, but we wanted to make sure before we sent them. After all, there's a recession on and we have two mouths to feed."

"You and Andy are getting married?" She asked. "You and Andy had another baby? Holy shit, when did all of this happen?" Her reaction made me grin as the awkwardness seeped away from the phone call.

"Yeah, he proposed to me about a year ago, but we're only just getting round to actually planning the wedding" I laughed. Well, having a bay really delays things. Getting married hadn't been at the top of my priorities. It was always about looking after Savannah and Zane. "I had Zane ten months ago. Gosh, it really has been a long time since I last talked to you."

"I know" She agreed. "I was so tempted to ring you, but I thought that you guys would be so busy what with Andy being in the band and you having to take care of Savannah. It just seemed as though you guys had so much on your plate. Hey, if you want we should catch up and of course we want to go to your wedding."

"I'd always make time to talk to you and Andy's taking a little break from the band. The break's over in two months and then they're going on tour, though." I explained. "It would be great to catch up with you guys. Are you free this time next week?"

"Yeah, we're free" She answered. "We'll see you then. Bye, Riley."

"Goodbye, Laura" I sighed. Talking to her brought back memories of high school which saddened me a little. In reality, it hadn't been that long since I had been there, but it felt like a lifetime ago. I sometimes missed the thought of just going to school and only having to worry about homework. My worry now is finding a nursery for Savannah to go to next year.

"So, what did she say?" Andy asked. "I'm guessing that she's coming over next week." He seemed really excited about this for some reason. It took me a moment to realise that he probably just missed the feeling of high school.

"She's dating James now and they want to come to the wedding" I answered. "Yes, they are coming down next week, so we can catch up. Next week is going to be a trip down memory lane."

"Ah, I sense that you're going to end up crying" Andy laughed. "Any talk about the past and you wind up missing it and getting all humble." I fixed him with a mock glare as I scoffed at him.

"Hey, I do not." I defended. "I just sometimes wish that I could experience things again." He wrapped his arm around me and pulled me close to his chest.

"Hey, it's not an insult, Ry" He assured. "It's one of the many things that I love about you. It just shows that you're human."

"Thanks, Andy" I whispered, pressing my lips to his, savouring the sweet taste. Even though I had been with him for three years, his lips never ceased to blow me away. "I love you" I mumbled into his lips.

"I love you too" He whispered back, his hands clutching as he pulled me closer to him and kissed with more force. We were only interrupted when Savannah came running into the room with a bear that was given to her for her second birthday.

"Daddy, play with me?" She asked. Andy was a sucker when she flashed him the big blue eyes which led me to believe that when she was a teenager, she was going to be able to get everything she wanted off him.

"Sure, Savannah" He answered, picking her up and settling her on his knee. "What do you want to play?" She pointed to the box of dolls that my dad had brought round the other day. They used to belong to me, but I had been so attached to them that I couldn't throw them out, so I hauled them in the loft on my thirteenth birthday. At least they would finally be put to good use. "Dolls? Yay, I'm in for a treat" He sighed as he took Savannah to the box and placed her on the floor.

"She's a kid" I shrugged. "Today this will be her favourite toy and tomorrow it will probably be something else" A knock at the door ended my tirade. I didn't even have a chance to open it before it was pushed open and Bailey stepped inside with Ashley behind her.

"We have great news" She squealed. The list of possibilities ran through my head. Bailey had caught a big break with her art, she was getting married, she was pregnant or she was moving out of the house that she hated. When you've had two children and gotten engaged before you reach the age of twenty-one, you begin to expect the unexpected.

"We're finally going to go down to Bailey's sister's house, so she can make it up with her" Ashley answered once he saw my confused face. It soon broke out into a grin as I pulled Bailey into a brief hug. Now there would be even more chance of getting more people into the family. The thought of another child being a part of the family made me so pleased. Finally, Savannah would have someone closer to her age to play with. Zane was just too young to do all of the things that she wanted to do.

"That's great, guys" I congratulated as I hugged Ashley. "When are you going to do it?"

"Tomorrow" Bailey sighed. "It's been eating away at me for the past ten months and I've finally decided to just get it over with. The sooner we do it, the better. Even if she doesn't want to see me, it's always going to be better than not knowing."

"You're right" I agreed. "We have pretty good news too. Ash, you remember James and Laura from school. We were in the band together."

"Oh, yeah" Ashley answered. "Yeah, they were pretty cool people. God, I haven't seen them in forever. I wonder what they're doing now."

"Well, they're dating and I just got off the phone with them and they want to come to the wedding and we're going to meet up next week, so it looks like they'll be back into my life."

"That's great" Ashley exclaimed. "You just got off the phone with them? Because it looked like you were making out with Andy to me."

"Ashley" I chastised. "Shut up. Come on, Andy's going to want to hear about your plan for tomorrow."

**Well, there's the first chapter. Hope you guys enjoy it. The next chapter will be a Bailey and Ashley one and then the third chapter will take place when James, Laura, Riley and Andy meet up and discuss old times. Please drop a review on your way out!**


	2. Chapter 2

Pulling Me Through Part Three

**As promised, this will be a Bailey and Ashley chapter which takes place the day after the last one. Three new characters will be in this chapter: Rikki, Maxxie Taylor and Alex.**

**Lyrics: You won't cry for my absence I know. You forgot me long ago.**

Chapter Two

_Bailey's POV_

It was midday and Ashley and I were sitting in his car, too scared to go in. we had been there for about ten minutes and not one of us had a made a move to get out. What if she didn't want to see me? To hell with that. It had been ten months since I had promised Ashley that I would try and get him to see his nephew. It was about time that I actually put that plan into action.

"Come on, there's no point in just sitting here" I sighed as I opened the car door. "There's no way we'll be able to see Alex if we just sit here." Before I had a chance to actually get out of the car, Ashley pulled me towards him, planting his lips on mine for a brief two seconds before pulling away.

"Whatever happens, I'm here for you" He assured. Giving him a wide smile, I slipped out of the car and led him up the patio and up to the door. I knocked firmly, intertwining my hands with Ashley's.

_Ashley's POV_

When the door opened, I saw a woman who looked so much like Bailey it was uncanny. Her brown hair was swept into a tight ponytail, waving just to her shoulders. Her lips were set in a thin line as she looked at us, her brown eyes so deep, but not matching the sparkle of Bailey's. She had Spanish blood in her, I could tell.

"Bailey, what are you doing here?" She asked. "Goodness, you haven't changed a bit." Her hands rose to Bailey's face, almost as though she didn't believe that this was her little sister.

"Rikki, I've missed you" Bailey sighed, relaxing slightly and giving her a small hug. "Please tell me that you'll let me back into your life."

"Is this your boyfriend?" She asked as I nodded. "Hello, I'm Rikki Fuentes and you are?"

"Ashley Purdy, nice to meet you" I said, sticking my hand out as she shook it.

"Nice to meet you too" She replied. "Bailey, I don't even remember why you left. Of course you can be back in my life." She stepped aside to let me and Bailey in. Her house was like that of a typical twenty year old. A firm sofa sat in the living room next to a large television and the kitchen was littered with kitchen utensils that I couldn't even name. In the garden, there was a shed, trampoline and a slide that I knew belonged to Alex.

"Auntie Bailey" A small voice squeaked from behind me. I turned to see a young blonde boy running at Bailey, his arms open wide. She picked him up with grace and mumbled incoherent words. "I've missed you."

"I've missed you too" She laughed, setting him down on the kitchen counter. "Well, haven't you grown up so much since the last time I saw you."

"Jeez, I could say the same about you" A masculine voice said from behind me. "Since when did you start wearing makeup? And since when did you have a boyfriend?" I turned to see a man with dark hair smiling at Bailey.

"Hey, Maxxie" She greeted, not as much love there for him as her sister and nephew, but she still cared for him. "How have things been?" It seemed as though she was asking out of common courtesy rather than actually wanting to know how he had been.

"Things have been good" He replied, raising his eyebrows at her. "Care to tell me why my brilliant sister-in-law has returned?"

"Um, I just missed you guys" She sighed. "My friend was having her second baby when I brought you guys up and Ashley got all excited about having a nephew and he wanted to meet him and that was when I realised that I had really been missing having you in my life."

"Ah, so you're responsible for getting Bailey back to us?" Maxxie asked, a firm arm pulling me into a hug. "Thanks, kid. Without you, we might never have gotten to see Bailey again."

"No problem" I said awkwardly. "My name's Ashley, by the way." He gave another wide smile before going over to Alex.

"Hey, son" He said. "Why don't you go spend some time with Auntie Bailey and Uncle Ashley." He pulled Alex down from the kitchen counter, set him on the floor and then pointed at me.

"Um, hi, Alex" I greeted. Yeah, I wasn't the best at meeting new people even if they are only five years of age. "I'm your Uncle Ashley."

"You want to go play football?" He asked.

"Alex, it's December and there's snow all over the garden. Why not build a snowman instead?" Rikki laughed. Alex took my hand and led me into the garden before I even got a chance to reply. Well, I was never a fan of the snow, but I guess I could face it if Alex wanted me. Bailey gave me a reassuring smile as I left the house with Alex.

_Bailey's POV_

As soon as the back door was closed, Rikki and Maxxie turned to me with large smiles. They freaked me out sometimes, but I was just so glad to be talking to them again.

"It looks like you've found a keeper" Rikki finally said. "Seriously, he's good with Alex and he treats you right. There'll be wedding bells before you know it. So, who's your friend who just had a baby?"

"Well, she had the baby ten months ago. It's Riley" I explained. "Her boyfriend is the singer in the band that Ashley plays bass in. They're engaged now."

"Wow" Rikki sighed. "It sounds like you really built a life for yourself when you left. You still painting?"

"Yeah, I'm finally making money from it" I said. "I paint pictures of the band and sell them on the official website. The money's pretty good and it helps making Black Veil Brides bigger."

"My little sister is so grown up" She cried, pulling me into her arms. "Okay, I want to meet these friends of yours. Tell me all about them."

"Aha, this could take a while" I started. "Well, there's Andy who is Riley's boyfriend. They have two children. A daughter called Savannah and a son called Zane. I'm Zane's godmother. Andy's the vocalist of the band, Ashley's bass, CC's the drummer, Jake's the guitarist and Jinxx is the other guitarist. Jinxx is dating Sammi. Sammi is my best friend along with Sandra and Scout. That's pretty much it for the little group."

"Jesus Christ, that is a lot of people" Maxxie asked, staring out of the window at Ashley and Alex. "That boyfriend of yours is really good with children." I stood next to him and watched as Ashley helped Alex roll the snow into a ball. I had never seen him look so happy.

"Yeah, he's had experience with Savannah" I sighed. "She's two now. She's getting to the age where she's playing out and everything. She'd probably love to meet Alex."

"He really does sound like such a nice man" Rikki mused. "You've got a good one right there. We'll have to set up a day where we can all meet."

"Rikki, you've changed so much" I laughed. She shot me a confused look as she poured herself a drink. "You used to be so careless and really outspoken and now you want to meet other mom's? I quite like this change, though"

"Yeah, you were always the mature daughter and I was the one who was a complete brat" She agreed. "I guess watching Alex grow up and being put in the situation where I have to look after someone else has really changed me. You've changed too. You used to be so shy and quiet. You were the artsy girl who never spoke. Meeting Ashley has brought you out of your shell."

"Yeah, I suppose it has" I sighed. "Whenever he's around, I can do whatever I want. I'm on top of the world when he's here. Ah, I can't explain it."

"Don't worry, I understand it" Rikki assured.

"Okay, I can't hear about all of these feelings" Maxxie exclaimed. "I'm happy for you, Bailey, but you're still like a sister to me."

Wow, it felt weird to be part of my real family again. Oh, I really had missed this.

_Ashley's POV_

Alex was absolutely amazing. He was amusing and interesting to listen to even though he was only five. He had the most brilliant eyes and he was pretty creative with his snowman. When he started stabbing holes in the face and I asked what he was doing he said he was giving the snowman freckles.

"So, you excited to see your Auntie Bailey again?" I asked once he started looking around the garden for some rocks to use as eyes. "She's really happy to see you again and your parents seem like they are too."

"Yes, I'm excited" Alex replied, barely paying attention because his focus had been stolen by something else. "Mommy wasn't happy when Bailey left. She's happy now."

"What do you mean by unhappy?" I asked, picking him up, so he could reach the top of the snowman to put the eyes in. "How do you know that?"

"She used to cry a lot" He answered simply as though it was no big deal. If I saw my Mom crying now, I would be pretty freaked for her. "Daddy tried to cheer her up, but she wasn't the same. She stopped smiling at me on a morning. She's happy now."

"How were you when Bailey left?" I asked. Everything about this kid intrigued me. I probably sounded like I was interrogating him, but his answers were interesting. He gave me a true insight to the Fuentes family.

"I missed her" He said. "She was like my second mommy. I don't know why she just stopped coming over. Did I do something wrong? Did she stop loving me?" This wasn't the kind of answer I had been hoping for.

"Oh, no" I whispered, pulling him into a quick hug. "Alex, you didn't do anything. Bailey just had to leave for a little bit, so she could get her head straight. She was so excited to come back and see you again. Do you understand that, Alex?"

"Yeah, Uncle Ashley" He replied. I felt a stab of love when he called me Uncle. It really looked like I was finding my family. "Can we get Mommy, so she can see it?"

"Sure, Alex" I answered. "Come on, let's go" He took my hand and led me back into the kitchen. "The snowman's done and Alex wants you guys to see it." The trio followed us back out and took a look at our creation.

"Wow, Alex" Bailey cheered. "That's brilliant." She wrapped her arm around me, laying one gentle kiss on my cheek. "It seems like you've really bonded with him" She whispered. I watched as Alex, Rikki and Maxxie went off into a little conversation of their own before answering Bailey. My hands went to her waist as I replied to her statement.

"I've just realised that I want to spend the rest of my life with you" I replied. "I love you and I feel like I've just found my family."

"Thanks, Ashley" She sighed. "I feel the same way. I love you, Ash."

**So, we finally meet the Fuentes' at last. Hope everyone enjoys and please leave some feedback, favourite and out this on alert. Thank you for the reviews on the first chapter too. They were brilliant!**


	3. Chapter 3

Pulling Me Through Part Three

**Okay, so this chapter is centred on Andy and Riley and it's the one where James and Laura come back into the story, so I hope you all enjoy and please leave a review!**

**Lyrics: Welcome to hell, bitch you can't do nothing about it**

Chapter Three

_Andy's POV_

It was almost time for Laura and James to come round and Riley was fluttering around the living room in an effort to make it presentable.

"Riley, they're old friends from school" I reminded "They're not inspecting out house" She stopped cleaning for just one moment and that was only to glare at me before she started up again.

"Andy, we haven't seen each other in a few years" She sighed. "We're not going to look like good parents if they come in to see that our home is scruffy." I rolled my eyes at her back as I pulled Zane closer to me.

"Okay, whatever" I laughed just as the doorbell rang and Riley dropped the duster she had been holding. "Are you going to answer the door or should I?"

"Don't be so sarcastic" She snapped. "Come on, they'll be looking forward to seeing you." She grabbed my hand and Savannah's and led us to the door before opening in it. The couple looked completely different to how they used to. James was no longer a scrawny teenager. His thin arms had been replaced with arms that only contained muscle. His hair was cut short and his jawline was tight. His eyes had grown a darker green than they had been since the last time I had seen him. Laura was a completely different story. Her long, brown hair had now been dyed to a dirty blonde and it was cut to her shoulder and curled. Her face had matured and her figure more curvy. Her dress sense had changed too. She wore a white blouse and a pair of black trousers as she had obviously just come from work.

"Oh my God" I breathed as I took them in. The group hadn't changed a bit since high school, but Laura and James were a picture perfect family. What the hell had happened to the two punks that I was friends with in high school? "You two have changed so much."

"You two have as well" Laura mused as she looked closely at Riley. "You used to have red hair and now it's black. Andy, your hair is super long."

"And now you guys have two children" James laughed as he peered at Savannah. "Can we come in?"

In midst of laughing, Riley managed to get out, "Sure, come on in." They followed us through the narrow hallway and into the living room where they took a seat on the sofa. Laura perched on the edge and James sat sprawled over half of it. His manners hadn't changed at all.

"So, how have you guys been?" Laura asked as she clasped her hands together over her knees. The change in her had shocked me so much. She used to be incredibly similar to how Riley was, but now she was a professional girl who was intent on making a life for herself.

"We've been good" I answered, anxious to ask her questions about what she had been doing for the past two years. "So, where do you work?"

"A clothing firm" She answered. "I'm mainly getting coffee, at the minute, but I'm going to work my way to the top." Wow, she sounded as though she really had come up with a plan for the rest of her life.

"Hey, I admire you, Laura" I sighed as I leaned back in my chair, pulling Zane up to my chest a little. "It takes guts to work from the bottom to the top."

"Hell, what I'm doing is nothing compared to what you guys are doing" She shrugged. "You're in a band and you are making it big and then you're at home looking after the children and hopefully still playing the piano."

"Yeah, I'm still playing" Riley laughed before suddenly turning serious and staring morosely at the floor. "What you're doing is way more than me. I don't even have a job and I'm in my twenties."

"Hey, don't get yourself down about it" James assured leaning over slightly to give Riley a pat on the back as a way to make her feel better about herself. "You've gotten engaged and you've had two beautiful children. Surely that means that you've achieved more than any of us here and I'm only working in a coffee shop."

"Ah, James, I've missed our conversations" Riley sighed. "You're a great person, you know. So, when did you guys start dating?"

"Well, we kept in touch after high school and then about a year later we went to a part and things happened which led to this" Laura explained, her cheeks blazing at the fact that she was discussing this with us. She had never been the kind of girl who liked to share her feelings with people no matter who it was.

"Now that we answered that, what was the engagement like?" James asked. I knew that Riley would have no trouble with explaining her feelings here. She loved talking about them.

"Oh, it was amazing." She squeaked. "He done the whole get down on one knee thing and then gave me a little speech about how he loved me and why he was with me and then I done the same thing and said yes." She was getting pretty excited over the whole thing, so I stepped in.

"It was on Savannah's birthday, so it made the day even more special" I said. "We're planning it now, but it's pretty tough work."

"Well, you are planning a wedding" Laura reminded. "It's not supposed to be easy. When are you going shopping for the dresses?" It would be Laura who would think of the clothes before anything else that had to be sorted before the wedding could commence.

_Riley's POV_

"Honestly, I don't have a clue when" I sighed. The stress of planning had been getting to me and that was the part that I had been really looking forward to, but it didn't look as though I was going to get round to doing that anytime soon. "I don't think it's going to be for a while."

"Well, you better hit me up when you're going because I have got to be there" Laura laughed. "Weddings are brilliant, right?"

"Yeah, they're brilliant" I agreed. "When you're not the one planning them." Sammi had already been showing me photos of dresses and veils and telling me what angle she'd take photos from when I hadn't even thought of what food we would be having or the rings we would have.

"Hey, we'll help out as much as we can" James commented. "We'll babysit too if you want us to. These kids of yours seem pretty fun." He looked down at the floor where Savannah was sitting, dolls in her hands and a pair of safety scissors lying next to her and hair strewn across the rug. She always wanted to style their hair even though I had told her no. "And a little violent."

"Savannah, I thought I told you not to cut their hair" I scolded, taking the scissors from her and placing them on the mantelpiece, so she couldn't reach them. "Can't you just play with them in a friendly way instead of hacking the hair of them?"

"Riley, it's fine" Andy laughed. "She's just a kid."

"Yeah, you're right" I sighed as I picked Savannah up from the floor and held her at my hip. "She's a kid who needs to go for their nap. Say bye to Laura and James."

"Bye-bye" She gurgled as I hurried upstairs.

"Bye, Savannah" I heard James call.

_James' POV_

Savannah was just the cutest little girl that I had ever seen! To tell the truth, it was weird being back here. The last time I was here, I was a younger teenage boy and I was rehearsing for a music performance with Andy, Riley and Laura and now I was here to visit them and spend time with their children. How the hell did that even happen? I believed that Laura was feeling the same way as she was sitting with her lips pursed, her legs crossed and her hands clasped tightly. She didn't know what to say in this situation even though it was normally a pretty hard task to get her to shut up most of the time. Right now, she was absolutely stumped.

"Are you guys okay?" Andy asked, taking in our worried and awkward glances. What were we supposed to say? "You're so quiet. The last few years must have really changed you guys."

"This is all just so weird and surreal" Laura whispered. "I had thought that I had been done with everything from high school. I was away from that hellhole and everyone there and now I'm back with you guys and it just feels pretty weird"

"I know how you feel" Andy sighed. "Seeing you guys made me feel pretty humble. You guys have changed so much, yet you're familiar."

"God, you two sound depressing" I laughed. "Why don't we just get back to talking about shit that we used to talk about?" Yeah, I was always the kind of guy who would try to make a situation more comfortable and casual no matter how awkward I found it. "Do you two have any idea when you're going to have the wedding?"

"Well, Riley wants a garden wedding and I think that it's a pretty good idea, so it should be in the summer, but I don't know if we're going to get everything planned for this summer. It'll probably be the one after that." Andy explained. Ah, the small talk was never anything that I was a big fan of.

_Laura's POV_

I had hated high school when I was there. Most of the people there had hated me and the only thing that got me through my time there was knowing that there would be a point in my life where I could leave it all and get on with my own life and do what I wanted to do and James also got me through. Yes, I had a crush on him for a long time before we got together. He was the only one who knew about how bad my high school experience had been and I intended to keep it that way. You see, Riley and Andy were constant reminders of it all. Just sitting with them made me feel as though I was back in the classroom with people glaring at the back of my head. They made me feel as though I was being sucked back into it all, but it wasn't their fault and I couldn't be distant with them over the fact that they reminded me of something that had happened two years ago. I should be at their wedding and I should be there to babysit for them and help them plan. It doesn't matter how I feel right now and James will want to be there for him too. My feelings are irrelevant, at the minute.

**Okay, so that's all the new characters introduced and old characters have now been brought back, so you could say that the next chapter is when it really starts and I think that that's the chapter where a lot of important stuff is going to take place, so I hope you've enjoyed this chapter and I hope that you guys enjoy the next chapter just as much. Please leave a review, put it on story alert and favourites. Thank you ;) Oh, and I'd also like to apologise for this being a late update, but hopefully it was well worth the wait!**


	4. Chapter 4

Pulling Me Through Part Three

**Okay, so this is really where the story starts properly, so I hope you all enjoy and please leave a review!**

**Lyrics: I used to have so many friends I thought I could trust, but when it came to saving me, you let me self-destruct.**

Chapter Four

_Sammi's POV_

Riley was the only person I could go to right now. She'd let me in her house, give me a drink and let me talk about all of my problems until I fell asleep. Andy would be there for me too and Savannah and Zane would be there to cheer up. Whatever happened, I just couldn't stay in the apartment with Jinxx.

As soon as I got to the door, it opened and Riley stepped out, a look of concern flashing over her face.

"Hey, I saw you coming up the street" She explained. "What happened to you? You look like hell." Well, she never really started with saying the right things.

"Jeez, thanks" I sighed. "Can I come in? I need to talk to you." She stepped aside, let me in and then closed the door. "Thanks, Riley, I really need someone to talk to."

"Hey, it's not a problem." Riley shrugged. "What happened?" She asked once we were sitting down on the sofa.

"More like what didn't happen" I grumbled. How on earth was I supposed to explain all of this to her? Well, there wasn't even really anything to explain to her which just made it all even harder!

"Okay, just explain it all to me and I'll try and come up with a solution" Riley sighed. "God knows that me and Andy have had our arguments. I must have gained some experience from all that."

"Trust me, you haven't been through anything like this" Sammi whispered. "I came home two nights ago and Jinxx was acting all weird. He wouldn't talk to me properly which made me think that I had done something wrong. I woke up this morning to find him sleeping on the sofa and when I asked him what I'd done to make him like this, he just ignored it and told me that he wanted to break up, but he wouldn't even tell me why. He said it would be better to discuss it when we're both calmer."

"Jesus, that must suck" Riley agreed, wrapping her arm around my shoulders in a comforting manner. "Jinxx will just be going through a tough time and he'll be over it soon enough. Don't give up on him, though. He'll explain it all when he's ready." As much as Riley was just trying to make me feel better about it all, it made me angrier. What if Jinxx wasn't just going through a tough time and he really was done with me? Maybe I had done something to really irk him that I hadn't even realised and he didn't want to speak to me ever again. The possibilities were all very likely.

"I don't think he will, Riley" I retorted. "He's never acted like this before and I've known him for years. Either I've done something and he doesn't want to talk to me because he's so angry or he's done something and he doesn't want to admit it yet, but he feels to guilty to be around me. Whichever one it is, he probably won't be back any time soon.

"Hey, you don't know that" Riley assured. "All you need to do is give Jinxx some space, so he can clear his head and just try to not let it get you down."

"Let what get you down?" Andy asked as he walked through to the living room, a bottle in Zane's mouth. "Sammi, you never let anything get you down/ I don't know what's happened, but you better snap out of it."

"Andy, it's a long story, but the short versions is; Jinxx broke up with me, but he won't even tell me why" I explained, shaking my head at the memory.

_Andy's POV_

What the hell was Jinxx even playing at? Yes, I knew why Jinxx had broken up with Sammi, but I promised him that I wouldn't tell anyone and I agreed because I didn't want to be part of it. As soon as he told me, I removed myself from the situation. You see, black veil brides went to the bar for a while. Riley insisted that I go because she knows how stressful it can be to always be in a house with two children. I love my kids with all of my heart, but God knows it's tough work.

So, we were at the bar and we'd all had a few drinks and well, Jinxx wasn't very good at dealing with them. There was a girl at the bar who was paying a lot of interest to us and we all had the sense to ignore it apart from Jinxx. Well, long story short, he kissed her and Jinxx is Jinxx. He can't deal with any form of guilt. He would rather that Sammi was hurt getting out of a relationship than hurt when finding out the truth ten years down the line.

"Oh, man, that totally sucks" I sighed. "Jinxx will get back with you soon enough." I lied. For all I knew, he might never want to be a part of us again. Guilt practically eats him alive. Something told me that my promise to not get involved would soon be broken. He needed some sense talked into him and I had a feeling that I was going to be the only one willing to actually try it.

"Yeah, it does" Sammi agreed, gently shaking her head as she wiped some tears from her eyes.

"I'll be back in a bit" I said, handing Riley Zane and giving her a look that said not to question what I was doing before I hurried from the house and in the direction of the flats that Jinxx lives at.

_Jinxx's POV_

The house was just depressing now that Sammi wasn't here to light it all up. I couldn't just let her stay here in the belief that she had done something wrong to me. As much as it hurt me, I had to tell her to leave. She didn't deserve to be around someone as stupid as me. She deserves better than that.

A knock at the door was the only thing that made me get up from my pit to see who it was. A part of me was wishing that it was Sammi. I wanted to tell her why I had broken up with her so bad, but the other part was telling me that she wasn't ready to hear it.

Andy stood at the door when I opened it. He looked so pissed at me which led me to believe that Sammi had taken refuge at Riley's and Andy had heard all about the breakup. At least someone could give me shit for what I did.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Andy asked, pushing me aside and walking straight into the hallway. "You're a shit person sometimes, Jinxx." As weird as it may sound, I'm glad someone was calling me these names. I deserve it all.

"She needs someone better than me." I sighed, following him through to the living room.

"Oh, you don't need to tell me that" Andy scoffed. "You've been dating that woman for longer than I've been dating Riley, yet as soon as you have a few drinks, your lips are planted on some bitch's neck." Andy was pacing the room with a look of death in his eyes. He treated Sammi like a little sister and the thought of anyone hurting her made him go insane. "All those sweet things you would say to her. You know, about having a beautiful house and getting married and having kids. Did you many any fucking thing?"

"Hey, man, I was drunk" I shouted. I made one mistake and suddenly everything I've ever said to Sammi is a lie. How does that possibly make sense? "I love Sammi more than anything in the world and I hate myself for doing what I did. If I could turn back the clock, I would."

"Yeah, well, you can't" Andy reminded. "You need to stop looking at the past and make it up with Sammi before she's gone for good."

"Look, I know I do" I sighed. "You've made mistakes too. You broke up with Riley because of what happened with Scout." As soon as the words came out of my mouth, I knew that I had passed the line and it was going to take a hell of a lot of explaining to put it right.

"Hey, that was completely different" Andy snapped. "I didn't kiss Scout. It was all a misunderstanding. The only reason I didn't get back with Riley quicker was because she was pregnant and her hormones were all over the place. She needed her space."

"Sorry, Andy, I didn't mean any of that" I explained. "It's just; I don't know what to do. I've only ever argued with Sammi a couple of times and it wasn't really ever over anything serious, but now I've cheated. She'll never want to get back with me."

"Sammi loves you. She might want to get back, but it'll never happen if you don't explain what happened and apologise." Andy sighed as he sat down. At least he looked as though he had calmed down and he was actually going to try and help me with my problem. "Stop acting as though you're the victim here."

"Okay, I'll do it tomorrow" I answered. His face told me that he wasn't happy about me waiting any longer to try and sort things out with Sammi, but it had to be done. "She needs to have time to cool off."

"Sure, if she really loves you, she'll forgive you" Andy assured. "All relationships have problems, but true, strong ones are the ones where forgiveness can occur. Sammi knows that and she knows that your relationship is a strong one." Andy got up from the sofa and headed to the door before turning back to face me. "I'm not getting involved with this anymore than I already have."

"Thanks, Andy" I called. "Hey, since when did you get all wise and smart?" For the first time today, he grinned at me.

"Hey, people may think I'm a useless bastard, but I do have my moments. I've had experiences with Riley that I've learned from." He explained. "When you have two children and a fiancée, you'll understand and you can give people advice about it all too."

"It's highly unlikely" I called, even though the door had been closed and Andy was gone. Jesus, what the hell was I supposed to do about Sammi? Even though Andy had given me all of the advice, I still wasn't exactly confident in telling her all of this.

**Well, I apologise for making them break up! Hope you enjoy, though and please review.**


	5. Chapter 5

Pulling Me Through Part Three

**I apologise for such a delayed update, but I suppose it's better late than never. Okay, so this chapter takes place the day after the last one. Hope you all enjoy and please review.**

**Lyrics: Everything I am, everything I need lies in you.**

Chapter Five

_Jinxx's POV_

My palms were sweating and my breath was coming hard. How on earth was I supposed to explain all of this to her? In all of my life, I never thought that I would ever put myself in this position. I thought that I'd always be faithful to the girl that I loved, but it seems as though I'm not.

"Just do it, Jinxx" I mumbled to myself as I sat in the car outside of Andy's house. "The worst that can happen is that she slaps you, but you can get her back if you try. Just be a man, Jinxx." With those final words, I shook myself a little and then got out of the car. How was I supposed to go about this? I could always just come right out and say it or I could sit her down and explain it softly. I'd be there for her if she cried and I'd tell her how much I loved her and then give her some space. Andy was right. If she really does love me, then she'll find a way to forgive me and take me back.

As soon as I knocked on the door, all of my rational thinking disappeared and I began to get restless again. Would it be so bad if I just ran away now and faced this another day? Of course it would be.

The door soon cracked open, ending the personal argument I was having with myself. "Jinxx, what are you doing here?" Riley asked, cradling Zane to her chest. Her hair was dishevelled, leading me to believe that she had had a rough night with the kids and she wouldn't be too happy if any more drama went down today. Well, she was going to be in for quite the treat.

"I came to speak to Sammi" I answered, gulping hard as I wiped my palms off my jeans.

"Are you being serious?" She questioned. "Look, I've been up all night with Zane. He's teething and you coming in to talk to Sammi is going to end in shouting and then I'll have another restless night. I think it's best if you just leave it until next week" She started closing the door, my chance of talking to Sammi becoming even slimmer…until I jammed my foot in the door and she opened it again. "Seriously, Jinxx?"

"Please just let me in" I pleaded. "I won't be here for long."

"Fine, but don't make anyone cry" She sighed, stepping aside so I could get in. "Sammi, Jinxx is here" She called. Sammi was sitting on the sofa with her red hair tied up into a loose bun. Her eyes showed anger and confusion as she looked up at me. It took everything in my strength to not lose myself in her eyes that were rimmed in black eyeliner.

"Jinxx, what are you doing here?" She asked as she sat up and looked closer at me. "Are you finally going to give me a reason as to why you broke up with me?" Yeah, that was a pretty stupid move on my part.

"Sammi, I think we need to talk about this like adults" I sighed as I sat on the sofa by her. "I was stupid to try and hide why I broke up with you from you."

"Damn straight" She whispered. "You made me so confused. I didn't know how I was supposed to put right what I did wrong because you wouldn't even tell me what I did wrong."

"Sammi, you didn't do anything" I mumbled, taking her hand in mine, surprised she would actually let me take it. Sammi was a real sweet girl, but she had a fiery anger too. "It's me."

"That's such a stereotypical breakup line" She chuckled before turning serious again. "Will you just hurry up and tell me why you done it."

"Fine, jeez, you don't have to be so pushy." I said. "Well, I got a little drunk one night when I was in a bar and there was this girl. Well, I kind of kissed her."

"Are you being fucking serious?" Sammi questioned, her hands balling into fists. "All of this time, I've been blaming myself for you idiotic behaviour when it was because you were a dirty little liar."

"Sammi, calm down" I soothed. "I was drunk and it meant nothing."

"It doesn't make a difference" She shouted. "You still done it. I wouldn't give a shit if it meant the world to you. You saw what happened when Scout kissed Andy. Hell, they were prepared to give Zane up for adoption. Why can't you just learn from their mistakes?"

"I'm an idiot" I sighed. "Sammi, I didn't mean to ruin our relationship. Please, just think of how we were before I done this. Just think about how happy we were."

"Yeah, we were so fucking happy that you thought it was okay to go and kiss another girl" She snapped, standing up and leaving the living room to go to the kitchen where Riley was. What the hell am I supposed to do now?

_Sammi's POV_

Disbelief was coursing through my veins. My Jinxx, the boy who's been there for everything has cheated. That was the one thing that I never thought he would do. As soon as I entered the kitchen, Riley was attacking me in a hug.

"What's happened?" She asked. "You seemed pretty mad back there."

"Oh, you don't know that half of it" I grumbled. "I am pissed at him. I suppose Andy knew that he had gotten up to. Did he tell you?"

"I am so confused right now" Riley said. "Andy knows what?"

"That Jinxx kissed another girl" I shouted just as Andy walked in. "Did you know that Jinxx done that?"

"I see you found out then" Andy sighed. "Yes, I knew. I just found out yesterday and the only reason that I didn't tell you was because it wasn't my place. This is between you and Jinxx."

"Great move, Andy" I whispered. "If you were really concerned about my feelings, you wouldn't have let me spend the whole night worrying about what I apparently done. You would have told me as soon as you heard." I stormed straight back out of the kitchen and into the living room. I probably shouldn't have said that to Andy. It just seemed as though everyone was out to get me.

_Andy's POV_

I stood stunned in the kitchen as Riley shook her head. "Jesus, you can't do right for doing wrong in this place." I finally sighed.

"Don't worry about it, Andy" Riley assured, wrapping me in a quick hug. "She's just upset about what Jinxx done, but she's not going to blame you for anything. As soon as she's calmed down, she'll be fine with you again."

"Ah, I love you, babe" I whispered, pressing my lips to hers as I tried my best to ignore the shouting coming from the other room before Zane started to wail at the noise.

"Man, you can't get a moment of peace in this house" Riley grumbled, pulling away from me to see to Zane.

_Jinxx's POV_

"Look, I think it would be best if I just left and came back another day after you've calmed down" I shouted over her insults.

"Don't even dare" She snapped. "Who do you think you are? How dare you tell me that you've kissed another girl and then play the victim."

"I'm not the victim here" I sighed. "I just don't think we can discuss anything if all you want to do is shout at me"

"Fine, just go and please don't come back for a while" She whispered. "I swear to God, if I see your face again, I'll slap it into fucking oblivion." With that said, I left her to cry in fury. She had every right to make those threats to me.

_Sammi's POV_

As soon as the door was snapped shut, I sat back down on the sofa and buried my head in my hands. Even though he had kissed someone else, I still felt myself wishing that he would have stayed and wrapped his arms around my shoulders and kissed me until I felt better. With a little bit of work, I knew that I could forgive him, but I couldn't tell if it was the right choice to make.

"Hey, Sam" Riley whispered, using the nickname she gave me when we were just kids. "Are you alright?"

"What does it look like?" I laughed through my tears. "Ugh, I'm a wreck over a boy. Five years ago I would have laughed at something like that, but now it hurts like hell."

"Hey, Sammi, don't cry" Andy mumbled, taking a seat next to me and giving me a hug.

"I'm sorry for what I said to you, Andy" I whispered. "I'm a bitch."

"No, you're not" Andy assured. "You're just a fiery girl who was angered by her boyfriend."

"Is it okay if I stay here for a little longer than planned?" I asked, knowing that I was probably pushing it a little. Andy and Riley practically had a full house already with two of the residents under three years old. God, that must be so difficult.

"Of course you can" Riley laughed. "God, did you even have to ask? You know that you're always going to be welcome here."

"Thanks, guys" I sighed. "I'm just going to get some sleep before I start screaming at people again." Riley gave me an assuring smile as I walked up the stairs to get away from them, so I could cry properly.

_Riley's POV_

I knew as soon as Jinxx walked in that this was all going to go to shit. I just hadn't expected it to be as serious as that.

"Hell, that was one dramatic day" I groaned, leaning back next to Andy as he wrapped his arm around me.

"Yeah, it was." He agreed. "At least we'll get some peace now."

"That's the best thing you've ever said all day" I laughed as I closed my eyes. It looks like being a mom, a good friend and a fiancée really does take its toll on you.

"Seriously, you didn't think me telling you that I loved you was the best thing I've said today?" He questioned. Oh, and just when I thought I could get a little bit of sleep.

"Yeah, I meant that" I lied as I grinned. "Oh, why don't we plan a little bit more of the wedding. We can think about dresses."

"Daddy, come play with me" Savannah gurgled as she ran in from the kitchen with a doll in her hand.

"Oh my god, whatever happened to getting some peace?" Andy asked as he got down on the floor with Savannah and done her bidding. How the hell did I land such an amazing guy? Christ, I have quite the family.

**Well, I hope you enjoy this chapter. I felt as though a little more drama should be added. Anyway, I'll just apologise for making people wait so long for this update. I honestly didn't think it would take this long. Oh, and thanks so much for any reviews people have given me and for people who have favourited (is that even a word) the story and put it on alert. It really means a lot and keep it coming XD **


	6. Chapter 6

Pulling Me Through Part Three

**Sorry about taking so long to update? Anyway, I hope you all enjoy this chapter and please review!**

**Lyrics: If I wanted to go, I would have gone by now, but I really need you near me to keep my mind off the edge**

Chapter Six

_Riley's POV_

"How are you feeling, Sammi?" I asked as I dropped down on the sofa that she was laying on. She simply shrugged and pulled her covers up tighter around her. It was going to take her a while to get over this and forgive him.

"Ah, you know" She sighed. "Exactly the same as I did yesterday, but probably a little calmer" She chuckled at the end of her sentiment and closed her eyes. "I can't believe him."

"Everyone makes mistakes, but most aren't as sweet as him" I explained. "Most wouldn't explain it all to you and allow you the freedom that you need." What I was saying was probably a load of bullshit, but if it made her feel better, I would say anything. It's not right when Sammi's not cheery and random.

"Thanks, Riley" She mumbled. "But you shouldn't make up excuses for him. If he took me to an abandoned island for a romantic date, it still wouldn't be okay because he's only doing it because he cheated. If I forgive him, it will only depend on how I feel. Nothing he does right now matters to me."

I stayed quiet, knowing that if I said anything more, it would just aggravate her.

"Hey, do you want to go shopping?" I asked. She finally perked up and sat up in the sofa.

"Can we look at wedding dresses?" She asked. "You don't have to buy anything, but I'd love to look" I had promised myself that I wouldn't until the other details of the wedding had been filled in, but the yearning to try a dress on had been getting too much to bear. That was the centre of the wedding. Everyone always looks at the dress and becomes jealous of it. It makes people want to get married, so everyone else could stare at the way the dress cascades and flows around their legs.

"Fine, but we're definitely not buying" I warned. "And we need to invite the girls otherwise they'll be pissed at us."

"I suppose that's only fair" She agreed. "You go tell Andy that we're going and I'll text them to meet us."

…

"Hey, Andy" I called once I reached upstairs. He was still fast asleep. His covers falling from the bed to reveal his bare chest and his hair was tousled, so it fell over his crystalline blue eyes. "Get up!" It took only a gentle slap across the head to get him to wake up.

"Is Zane okay?" He asked, half asleep. Man, he was adorable when he first woke up. "Is Savannah?"

"Andy, the kids are fine" I assured. "I just wanted to ask you if you were okay with looking after them. Sammi's taking me dress shopping." He perked up when he heard it.

"Ooh, what are you getting?" he asked. "Is it going to be short or long?" God, there are times when I worry about Andy. He seems more excited about my dress than I am.

"I don't know yet" I laughed. "I don't have a clue what I want and I wouldn't tell you anyway. You're not allowed to know until you seem me walking down the aisle."

"Man, why do you have to be all traditional?" He questioned as he slipped out of the bed and pulled a shirt around him. "Yeah, I'll look after them today."

"My mom would have freaked out if it wasn't traditional" I laughed. "And it's kind of fun that way. Anyway, I'll see you later" I made to leave the room, but he took my hand in his and pressed a peck to my cheek.

"I'll see you soon, babe." He whispered as I left.

…

"You've missed the turnoff" Sammi reminded. I bit at my fingernail, getting more and more agitated as the seconds wore on.

"I swear to God, if I had known that coming shopping with you would be this stressful, I never would have said yes" I grumbled to receive a quick glare.

"Okay, take the next left and then park up" She instructed. I had never been so happy than when I saw Sandra, Bailey, Natasha, Scout and even Rikki.

"Aha, who's a good driver now?" I laughed as I got out of the car. "I got us here in one piece."

"I thought you wouldn't be shopping for a dress for a while" Natasha reminded me once we were walking into the store.

"Ah, I didn't either, but Sammi's been feeling a little down, so this was the best way to cheer her up" I sighed, trying my hardest to be tactful about the situation. If Sammi felt the need to tell the others what had happened, then it was her call…not mine.

"Aw, why've you been down?" Sandra asked as she took a seat in the corner of the store and glared at the dresses around her. Yeah, she wasn't the most enthusiastic about dresses or the colour white.

"Ah, it's a long story" Sammi mumbled. "But I suppose you're going to find out sooner or later and it might make me feel better if I get it all off my chest."

"Okay, you're starting to worry me a little" Scout laughed in a nervous manner. "Is everything okay?"

"Well, Jinxx broke up with me a few days ago" Sammi revealed. All of their eyes bugged out. We've all had relationship problems at some point, but no one had expected any of it to happen to Sammi and Jinxx. They've been together for as long as anybody could remember. They just didn't have problems. They were perfectly compatible whereas I have my ups and downs when it comes to my relationship with Andy. Everyone just expected Sammi and Jinxx to be together forever.

"What the hell happened?" Bailey questioned. Rikki was the only one who didn't seem to realise how significant this was. She had only just joined the group and didn't realise how great these two were. Natasha didn't know the full extent of it, but she understood that it was bad.

"At first I didn't know" Sammi relived. "He wouldn't tell me, so I just assumed that it was something that I had done and then yesterday, he came over and told me…" She trailed off and looked through the racks of dresses. This was hard for her.

_Sammi's POV_

There was a lump in my throat, but I refused to cry. I didn't want to think back to what happened yesterday, but I knew that I would have to if I was to tell the girls.

"So, what happened?" Natasha asked. "What did he do?" At least she was brave enough to ask the question that the others were too scared to ask.

"Um, he told me that he kissed another girl and that he felt so guilty that he would rather not be with me" I whispered, wiping at my eyes frantically to stop any stray tears. "He's trying to be noble and decide what's best for me and it's like I don't even get a say."

"Come here, Sammi" Scout finally mumbled as she pulled me into a hug and sighed deeply. "Jinxx is just being a dick. He'll realise that he's made a huge mistake and then he'll come crawling back to you."

"I don't want him to come crawling back to me" I lied. "I never want to see him again" It was all a lie. Last night was the worst night I have ever had. All I wanted was to feel his arm tighten around me.

"I can see where you're coming from" Sandra agreed. "Come on, let's look at the dresses to cheer you up" Well, that's the first time I ever thought I'd hear Sandra say something like that.

"Hey, you should try this on?" I said as I pulled out a flowing white dress that swept the floor. It had netted material for the arms and a long veil attached. "If you just paint the veil black, you'll be good to go"

"Ha. Ha, Sammi" Riley said sarcastically as she took a closer look at the dress. "It is beautiful, though."

"Try it on" I urged as I held it out to her. "There's nothing wrong with making a purchase a little earlier than expected.

_Riley's POV_

It was simply gorgeous. I could only imagine how it would look on me as I walked down the aisle. I wanted it. I wanted to flaunt it in front of Andy and I wanted my little girl to hold the train as I walked. I wanted my son to remember it and to hope that his future wife would wear a dress like this. I was prepared to buy it.

"Fine, I'll try it on" I sighed as though I thought it was a hardship. It took forever to get it all fastened up. I had Sammi, Scout and a woman who worked here fastening up the corset at the back and it still took the better half of an hour.

"There you go" The woman said, looking at the dress in pride. "You're all fastened it." I followed her to where the mirror stood and gasped as soon as I saw myself. The girl who had walked in with the hoody and the jeans was now wearing a pristine wedding dress. My black hair fell to my waist and contrasted with the dress brilliantly.

"Oh dear god" Scout sighed from behind me. "Can I marry you?" I couldn't even tear my eyes away long enough to laugh.

"Shit, man, you have so got to get that one" Sandra whispered from behind me. "It's excellent."

"How much is it?" I asked. As soon as she told me, I felt as though I was going to faint. That was way too many digits for me.

"Come on, Riley" Natasha urged. "You only get married once in your lifetime. Splash out a little."

"There's splashing out and then there's going bankrupt." I complained. "I'll never be able to afford it."

"Didn't you say that you had quite a lot still left over from what you inherited when your mom died?" Sammi questioned. Ah, I'd never forgotten about the sum of money that was in a safe in bedroom. I had wanted to save it for if Savannah or Zane ever wanted to go to college. It felt wrong to use it for a wedding dress. I'm sure I'll find another one soon enough that's a little cheaper and I'll look just as good.

"Don't even think about saying no" Rikki finally piped up. "I know doubt when I see it. Riley, this will be one of the most important days of your life. Don't make it less than perfect because of money."

"God, I suppose you're right" I mumbled as I slipped my hoody back on, feeling a lot less beautiful. I turned back to the woman, her eyes glinting at the prospect of making a sale. Ah, hell, you only live once. "I'll take it."

"Perfect, I hope you and your fiancée have a great wedding" She said as she pushed it in a dress bag. "Just sign here." I scrawled my signature on the piece of paper she held out and sighed in relief. This was by far the best purchase I had ever made.

**Well, she finally got her dress. The next chapter will take place the next week and it will be a Jake and Scout one. Ah, I haven't written one of those in a while. I hope you ell enjoyed this chapter and please leave a review! I'll try to get the next update up quicker than this time!**


	7. Chapter 7

Pulling Me Through Part Three

**Right, finally came up with some pretty good ideas for this part, so I hope everyone enjoys and please review!  
Lyrics: You know I can make your body levitate if you let me**

Chapter Seven

_Riley's POV_

It was around lunch time when she knocked. I answered the door and I got the shock of my life. Scout was standing there, eyes puffy and red, the tracks of tears ever so visible.

"What on earth has happened to you?" I asked, pulling her into the house and closing the door behind her.

"Okay, I just had a huge argument with Jake and I don't know what to do" She cried. Okay, so dealing with hysterical women wasn't exactly my thing, but I was determined to help her. "I'm an absolute idiot for thinking that he'll forgive me for what I've done." She sat on the sofa, pulling at her clothes and tugging at her clothes. There was something seriously wrong with her right now.

"Honey, what's happened?" I asked, putting on a soft voice, and gently patting her on the back. "I can't help you if you don't explain what's wrong."

"No one's ever going to be able to help me" She shouted. "I'm fucked up right now and I'm never going to be put right." I'd never seen her act like this. Even when she believed that she had broken me and Andy up for good, she was still calm and in control.

"Scout, just breathe and tell me what happened" I urged, almost sick of repeating the same thing over and over again. "Whatever it is, I won't judge you."

"It's a long story" She finally sighed. "Well, I've never exactly been clean when it comes to drugs." My eyes went wide. I never thought for a moment that Scout would be the one in our group who would take drugs. "It was nothing serious at first. Just a little bit here and there, but then I started trying out other things. It was never supposed to get that serious, but then I got hooked on one"

"What was it?" I asked, trying my hardest to act as though all of this was still normal. The last thing she needed was for me to freak out.

"Crystal" She whispered. "I should have known not to try it" She genuinely looked disappointed in herself, depressed over the fact that she was addicted to something.

"Why's Jake annoyed at you?" I asked, praying that she wouldn't say what I suspected.

"He saw me using" She sighed. My heart sank. Jake hated the thought of anyone taking drugs. It would crush him to see his girlfriend using right in front of him. He always said that drugs reminded him of all of the pills that my mom had to take to prolong her life.

"Oh, Scout" I sighed, shaking my head a little as I took her hand in mine. "Look, I'm not going to lie and say that this isn't a big problem because it is, but it's a one that you can sort out as long as you put the effort in. As long as Jake knows that you're going to try and quit, he'll be there to support you."

"How can you be so sure?" She questioned, leaning back in her seat and burying her head in her hands as though she had already given up on this. This was the moment where I could turn it all around. No matter what happened, I couldn't let her give up hope that she could do this. If I let her do that, the chances of her getting over it would become even slimmer than they are now.

"Because I've known him for twenty years" I laughed, almost trying to making light of the situation. "I know how the thinks and acts. Trust me when I say that everything will be okay." She didn't seem as though she believed me, but she gave me a reluctant nod anyway.

_Scout's POV_

My hands were shaking from the recent dose I had taken. I wanted to shout and scream at Riley that there was no way that everything would be okay. I wanted to make her realise how fucked up I was right now. The drugs simply turned me into a pessimistic bitch. I could only imagine how everyone was going to react when they found out what path I had chosen to go down. I was always the innocent one who barely even touched alcohol. Now I'm taking crystal. What had happened to me? I suppose it won't be that difficult when they realise that I just go off like a loaded gun now. I'm dangerous and pissed when I've had my fix.

"Hey, Scout" A voice said from behind me. Andy. Damn, he was going to know that something was up as soon as he looked into my eyes. Even though we had fallen out of love now and drifted apart, he would still know that something wasn't right with me. "Dude, what the fuck happened to you? Had a rough night with Jake if you know what I'm saying." He sat down on the sofa, grinning and chuckling at his own joke. I could feel the tears coming back to my eyes as I thought about what I had done.

"Andy, please God don't do that now" Riley grumbled.

"Seriously, what's wrong with you guys today?" Andy questioned. "You guys are turning into some testy girls."

"Just stop it" I shouted, shooting up from my seat. "Can't you see it's bothering me? Stop it!" See? I go off like a loaded gun. I can't help but scream whenever things aren't going right. I bit the sleeve of my jumper as I pulled at my hair. There was nothing else for it. I simply took off, praying that no one would follow me.

_Andy's POV_

What on earth had I said? Why was Scout acting so weird? As soon as the door had slammed shut, Riley jumped into action, only stopping when my hand gripped her wrist and pulled her back to me.

"Look, I've known Scout ever since I was thirteen" I sighed. "Calm down and explain what's happened to me and then leave her to get a grip. She just needs some time to calm down."

"Oh, Andy, she's never going to calm down" She whispered, closing her eyes as she allowed me to pull her into my arms.

"What do you mean?" I asked, sure that everything had just been blown out of proportion. "Look, Scout gets upset sometimes and she runs away from her problems. It's her way of coping with things, but she'll come to terms with whatever it is and then she'll deal with it in a more productive way" She simply shook her head and held on tighter to my waist.

"No, Andy" She sighed. "This is a pretty big problem and I don't know how I'm going to fix it."

"Hey, you don't need to fix anything" I soothed, patting her hair down as I littered a few kisses on the top of her head. "You're a mom of two beautiful children and you're planning a wedding. How can you be expected to sort out everyone else's problems? Jake will be there to support her."

"No he won't" She revealed, taking a step back. "Jake's not going to be talking to her for a while. You remember what it was like for me when I said that I was going to put Zane up for adoption, right?" A stab of guilt shot through me as I relived the time when I had actually went for the idea. I nodded although I didn't want to talk anymore about it. "They were pissed at me for doing something that wasn't considered right. That's how everyone is going to react when they found out what she's done."

"Okay, you need to explain what it is that she's done" I laughed, trying to make light of the situation. "I can't offer any advice if you don't tell me and I'm sure they won't. They're a very understanding group of people."

"Trust me, even I was a little disappointed in her" She sighed. "Right, you've got to promise me that you won't tell her that you know. If you do I swear to God, I will be so pissed at you."

"I won't tell her" I sighed, almost growing tired of the situation. I wanted her to just tell me, so I could take away the negative feelings she had.

"Well, Scout has found herself into a little problem that she's struggling to get out of" She began to explain. "She tried crystal and then she kind of get herself a little addicted to the stuff." I simply couldn't believe it. How did my ex-girlfriend get hooked on drugs. She's just not that kind of girl.

"You are kidding, aren't you?" I questioned, wanting for her to laugh and just say that she was and Scout was just going through a rough patch with Jake, but I knew that I would never be so lucky.

"I wish I was" She uttered. "There's more to the story. Jake walked in when she was using and he went off on one. He despises drugs and now it looks as though he doesn't want anything to do with her. Andy, if Jake decided that he doesn't want to be around her to support her, she's going to go spiralling downwards."

"Babe, I know that you're worried, but nothing huge is going to happen in the space of a few hours" I comforted. "Go spend time with Savannah to take your mind off everything and once you've cleared your head, we'll go round to Jake's and we'll explain everything to him."

"How can you be so sure that everything's going to turn out well?" She asked, her eyes showing me that she was scared that this would break up the group. She was terrified that the divide would form like it did with the issue over adoption.

"Look, Scout has an amazing group of friends around her who all just want her to be safe and happy. There's no possible way that we're going to just allow her to ruin her life. Hell, I'm sure Sammi would lock her in the basement if she thought that it would stop the drug addiction" For once today, it looked as though Riley really believed everything I had just said. It was a wonder she did. I was struggling to believe myself. My palms were sweating as I tried to comprehend the problem that was brewing. The truth is, I didn't have a clue how we were going to get Scout off drugs and I didn't even know if it was going to be possible.

"Man, I wish I was more like you" She finally sighed. God, she had no clue what was going through my head right now. At least I was able to keep the uncertainty out of my voice long enough to persuade Riley that things would be sorted.

"Everything will be fine" I whispered, trying my best to ignore how the words tasted on my lips, knowing that all I was doing was filling her with empty hope as I fed her lie after lie. "I promise you."

**Gosh, this chapter is long overdue. I honestly had no clue it was going to take that long to write, but I've been revising and I went to the caravan which didn't have internet *angry face* Well, at least there's some more added drama and I've got another two ideas that will be getting introduced very soon that should shake things up a bit. The first will probably be put in within the next few chapters and it's quite a good one. Anyway, hope you enjoy this chapter and please drop a review on your way out. Oh, and I apologise for this lengthy author's note. In my head it seemed a lot smaller XD**


	8. Chapter 8

Pulling Me Through Part Three

**Gosh, it's taken me absolutely ages to actually get an update up. I apologise for that. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter and please review! A lot of the lines in this are taken from Queer as Folk in this chapter because it's such an amazing scene!**

**Lyrics: You belong with me, my snow white queen**

Chapter Eight

_Scout's POV_

Jake was gone. He said he was going to stay with Jinxx for a little while until he got his head straight. It was the polite way of saying that he couldn't be around me and my stupid addiction anymore. At least he still cared enough to be polite about it all. Honestly, I was starting to think it would be better for someone to scream at me for doing this. At least then it might scare me into doing something about all these drugs.

It was at a time like this where I would use. No one was here to stop me and I was bored. Perfect time, right? Only it wasn't because a stupid frigging knock sounded at the door. At least I still had a bit of a buzz going from the last time. I ignored it, hoping they would go away soon, so I could shoot up.

"I know you're in there, Scout" A voice seeped through. There was no mistaking that it was Riley. The soft tone alerted me that it was her, but I knew that it was just going to flip around once I carried on ignoring her. She knocked again and waited until ten seconds had gone by before turning cruel. "Scout, open this fucking door right now or I swear to God I will beat the damn thing down." At least I knew that she was too weak to beat it down, but I knew that she could pick a lock. A few moments later, a click met my ears and it opened. Oh, shit.

_Riley's POV_

The smell was horrendous, but it wasn't enough to make me turn and leave. I would see this through until the end. The sight of it all was worse. There was alcohol all over the place and the curtains hadn't even been opened. This place looked as though it wasn't even lived in.

"Jesus, this place reeks" I complained, already hunting for any cleaning products I could find whilst she just pretended as though I wasn't there. "You should be glad that Andy isn't here. He would freak out."

"You told him. I know you did" She accused. I wasn't in the mood to lie and pretend as though I didn't. "You embarrassed me."

"I embarrassed you?" I asked in disbelief. In what world does that possibly make sense? Even though she was having problems right now. She still pissed me off more than ever.

"It's very rude to betray someone's trust" She hissed as though she was in a fit state to explain to me how to be a good person. "Andy probably thinks I need help right now."

"You do" I accused. "We all think that."

"Since when did you get so fucking superior?" She asked, standing up from the sofa as though she was ready to slap me which I didn't really put past her. "You think that just because you have two children and you're getting married, you're better than all of us. Well, guess what? It's a farce. It's a freak show. At the end of the day, you're still just a piece of shit whose father barely loves her and who was prepared to put her son up for adoption" That hurt.

"I don't need you to tell me that because I tell myself that every day" I whispered before I began to shout at her. Even my anger gets a little too much for me to get a handle on. "But at least I am not a tweaked out, fucked out crystal queen." She looked at me with utter hatred. "Scout, please, it's not too late. You can still help yourself."

"I don't want to get help" She retorted. "I'm happy like this. I'm having fun!" I couldn't believe any of the words that were pouring from her mouth.

"You call this fun?" I questioned. "This is pathetic." My words were probably a little too harsh, but I was willing to do anything to get her to see my point.

"I'm pathetic now?" She asked. "God, maybe I should just kill myself." Her words angered me. She was going to try and get sympathy now, but I was determined not to give her it. Right now, she didn't deserve it.

"Then do it" I urged, hoping that she didn't take me too literally.

"What?" She asked. It was clear to me then that she was only doing that for the attention and she didn't expect what I had said to her.

"I said 'then do it'" I repeated, before going back to cleaning the house. "Go on, kill yourself. Hell, you'd be doing all of us a favour. I mean, you've put us through quite a lot of shit when you really think about it. Oh, and when you do kill yourself, be sure to scream and sing as loud as you want because nobody's listening." That was probably the meanest thing I had ever said and I've been pretty cruel in my life. I couldn't tell if that was going too far. At least it rendered her speechless.

"Look, if you only came here to be a bitch, just go" She snapped. "I'm going to keep doing this until I want to stop, so I'd rather you didn't come over if it was to try and persuade me. Do I make myself clear?"

"Crystal"

_Andy's POV_

When I woke up, there was no sign of Riley. The kids were still fast asleep and Sammi was cooking something downstairs. Hopefully she would know where Riley had gone. It's not like her to just take off without telling anyone where she's going or when she'll be back.

"Hey, do you know where Riley is?" I asked her once I had gotten downstairs, peering into the pan to see what she was making. "Hey, are one of those rashers of bacon mine?"

"Of course, I figured you'd be up soon" She answered, pulling her hair up into a bun. "And Riley went to go see Scout. I asked why, but she said it was urgent and private. She wasn't acting how she normally does either. It worried me a little, to be honest."

I was pretty angry with her. I really didn't think going to see Scout was a good idea and if she was so set on doing it, she should have told me and I would have gone with her. She still should have told me about it. God, she needs to trust me a little more sometimes.

"Oh, that's great. I love Scout" I said, my voice then taking on a bitter quality. "But, on the other hand, I really hate her."

"Jesus, what's gotten into you?" Sammi asked, laughing a little, probably thinking this was all just a little joke, but I was deadly serious. Scout was screwing up lives now and that's out of order. "This family's a little weird sometimes."

"And don't we all know it" I laughed, not caring enough to go into detail about what happened, more content in letting her believe I was just joking on.

"I'm back" A feminine voice called from the front hallway. "Ooh, what's cooking?" Did she honestly think I was going to let her get away with acting as though everything was all normal?

"Hi, Riley" I called, smiling at her as she walked into the kitchen. "Can I talk to you for a bit upstairs?"

"Hey, your bacon's done" Sammi grumbled. "What am I supposed to do with this now?" She asked, already dishing it out onto a plate.

"You eat it" I answered. "You could do with getting a little meat on those bones." She laughed a little, sensing that whatever I had to say was important, so there was no point in arguing about it.

"What do you want to talk about?" She asked once we were in the bedroom with the door locked. "Hey, I should probably feed Savannah and Zane"

"Oh, don't even think about doing that" I laughed. There was no way I was going to let her take the easy way out of this. She had to hear this. "And don't even think about trying to pretend as though you don't know what I'm talking about."

"What are you going on about?" She asked.

"That's exactly what I meant" I accused, sitting down on the bed with my eyebrows raised at her. "Why did you go to see Scout? You know that she's going to be trouble right now."

"I couldn't help it, Andy" She defended. At least she wasn't trying to lie about it. "I hated seeing her act so weird yesterday and I really thought that if I just sat down and talked to her properly, things would just work out and she would accept the fact that she needed help.

"Damn you for having such a kind heart" I sighed, pulling her into my arms as she buried her head into the crook of my neck. "Look, Scout's going to keep using until she decides that she wants to stop and she's got to come to that realisation on her own. You can't force someone into wanting to change." I had no idea where all that wisdom came from.

"I know that you're right, but it's just too hard to watch her screw up her life" She whispered."

"I know it is" I soothed. "How did it go? Does she want to stop using?"

"Ah, it didn't go very well at all" She answered. "I walked in on her and she was pretty high and she just started arguing with me. I called her a few names and she got even more annoyed and said that she was going to kill herself, so I said that she should, but only to scare her into getting help. At the end of it, though, she said it was fun and that she was going to keep using."

"Holy shit" I exclaimed. "She really said all those things? God, she's worse than I thought."

"Jake's not staying with her anymore either" Riley complained. "That means she's just going to get worse because there's no one there for her to hide from. He's living with Jinxx for a little while. God, everything's getting so screwed up."

"Hey, calm down" I mumbled, pressing a kiss to her forehead. "Everything's going to turn out okay. It's just going to take some time, but it will all sort itself out."

"How can you be so sure?" She asked. Honestly, I didn't have an answer to that. I was just saying it to get her to calm down. I was worried too.

"I just can be" I answered, knowing it probably wouldn't satisfy her, but she wouldn't push it. "Come on, Sammi, will be wondering what we're up to."

"Do you think she'll get back with Jinxx?" Riley asked. Again, it was another question that I couldn't answer and I really wished that I could.

"I'm not sure" I answered, deciding that being truthful was the best way. "I hope so, but there's a chance she won't. We all know that Sammi is pretty hard-headed."

"Very true" Riley agreed. "I'll try and talk her into it one day."

"Seriously, Riley?" I questioned. "Haven't you learned that meddling is bad?"

"Okay, I won't try and get her to get back with him" She laughed, following me back out of the bedroom.

**Ah, I'm sorry about posting such a horrible chapter. Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter and please review. Oh, a CC storyline will also be getting introduced in the next few chapters, so that should be awesome!**


	9. Chapter 9

Pulling Me Through Part Three

**Well, be sure to vote in the poll that I have on my profile and hope you all enjoy and please review! Oh, and this chapter will take place a week after the last.**

Chapter Nine

_Jake's POV_

After a week of being away from Scout, I began to miss her more than I could ever imagine I would. I wanted my girlfriend back. I didn't want the girl who was high on drugs all the time. She wasn't my girl. I wanted sweet Scout Taylor-Compton back with me. I missed the way she'd edge closer to me at night as a way to hint that she wanted to cuddle. I missed the way that she'd play with Benji when she was bored, but I missed all the little things like the way her hair smelled and how soft her hands were.

It got to the point where I thought she would never change. I was under the impression that she would always be a drug addict and that thought almost killed me. I detested the very essence of her when she was high.

At least it seemed as though she was going to finally try and get some help. She knocked on the door this morning with her hair pulled into a tight ponytail with only a little bit of makeup on, reminding me very much of how she was before Crystal came into her life. She looked so beautiful that it took every ounce of strength in my body and mind to keep myself from wrapping my arms tightly around her. She was perfect in every single way.

She had told me that she wanted to quit this awful habit. That she didn't see the point in using if her life just became awful because she didn't have me. She told me that she loved me more than anything in the world and that she was on her way to get help. It was at that moment that I had to make the choice of staying out of her way for good or being there to support her. I chose the latter.

So, as soon as she told me that, I went with her to rehab and stayed with her for a while before heading straight to Riley's to tell her the good news. Scout had told me about the argument that the two had had.

…

"Are you being serious?" Riley questioned, delight written all over her face. "She's actually decided to quit the drugs? How did you persuade her to do it" I couldn't tell what I enjoyed more. Riley's reaction to the news or the fact that I didn't have to do anything to get her to stop abusing her body in the way that she was.

"Absolutely nothing" I answered, my pride going out to her. "She came over and told me that she wanted to do it." Andy was sitting on the sofa with her, his arm slung over her shoulder as he pressed a kiss to her cheek.

"You do know that this is because of you, don't you?" He asked. The argument that Riley had had with Scout must have really knocked some sense into her. "If you hadn't gone over there and scared her into all of this, she probably would have never found the willpower to admit that she needed help. Well done, babe."

"And you said that it would do more harm than good to talk to her" Riley joked, taking pride in the victory that had probably saved Scout's life. I would take pride in that too. "See? My meddling can have good effects. There's such a lack of faith in this house."

"And for that I apologise" Andy laughed, his lips traveling closer to her lips "Jake, don't you have somewhere that you need to be?"

"Okay, there is nowhere I'm leaving this house to let you two get closer" I shouted, raising my hands up in protest. "I'm not falling for that one again. I've already done that…twice."

"Yes and the products were excellent" Riley laughed, holding Zane close to her.

"Yes they were" I agreed, looking at my little nephew with love. Gosh, I loved those two kids with all of my heart. "But that doesn't mean that I wanted to see another little one running around here. At least not yet."

"Well, it will happen one day" Riley warned, grinning all the while, but something in her voice told me that she wasn't joking. God, there was no way that I wanted to sit here and listen to my little sister talk about how she was planning on having a third child. Does she ever know how to just give it a rest?

"What are you talking about?" I asked, almost dreading to hear the answer.

"Yeah, what are you talking about?" Andy questioned. "You've never mentioned anything to me about having a third chid."

"Well, it's not like I'm planning to have one now" She laughed. "It's just that when I picture us, ten years down the line, we always have another baby. We'll have three and then that'll be it."

"Aw, that's too cute" Andy cooed, kissing Riley on the nose. Are they trying to make me gag? I know I get all adorable when I'm with Scout, but when it's your best friend and your little sister talking about how many children they're going to have, it's so awkward and not the kind of conversation that I enjoy being a part of. It' just creepy when you really think about it.

Just as I was about to voice my thoughts and opinions, the phone rang loudly.

"Can you get that?" Riley asked, standing up from the sofa with Zane still wrapped up in her arms. "I need to feed Zane."

I picked up the phone, not recognizing the voice that spoke, but I hung on to absolutely every word they said. It was a doctor. I knew that from his introduction line. Everything that followed was a blur. I understood everything that he was saying, but I couldn't bring myself to speak to him. This couldn't be happening.

"We'll be straight down" I finally managed to say before putting the phone back down. How on Earth was I supposed to explain this to Andy and Riley?

_Andy's POV_

When Jake put down the phone, his face was as white as a sheet. I could tell straight away that something bad had happened. I racked my brains as I tried to think of anything that could bring about this kind of reaction from him. Who does he love that much? Scout. He had said that she had gone to rehab today. What if the withdrawal from the drugs had done something bad to her? That can happen, can't it? I didn't know. I wasn't an expert on drugs.

"What's wrong, Jake?" I asked as Riley came back into the living room. As soon as she saw Jake, concern flashed over her eyes and she settled Zane in the Moses basket before turning back to him.

"Jake, what's happened?" She asked. He finally looked as though he was going to answer the questioned, the sound of his sister's voice probably snapping him out of it.

"Um, it's CC" He answered, struggling to get his words out. What the hell had happened? My heart thumped hard in my chest. Something bad had happened to my band mate and best friend and Jake was taking eons to tell me what it was.

"Jake, spit it out already" I snapped. "You're making us worry. Look, it's nothing too bad, is it?" I prayed silently that it wasn't, but Jake just nodded. God, it would take a lot to make Jake this silent and freaked out. "Tell us then!"

"CC's in hospital" He gushed. "He was hit by a car. They said he's in bad condition and we've got to go down there straight away." For a moment I was frozen. How could innocent CC be hit by a car? He'd never done anything wrong in his life. Surely this was against some sort of rules that had been set by God.

"Is he going to be okay?" Riley asked, tears already springing up to her eyes. This was incredibly hard on her. She'd never been particularly good at dealing with her emotions. CC was like her brother. "Please just tell me that he's going to be okay."

"I don't know, Riley" He answered. At least he's being entirely truthful with us. I couldn't deal with Riley feeling betrayed by Jake for trying to sugar coat things. "They didn't tell me. They just said that we had to go to the hospital." It was then that I snapped into action. Well, shouldn't I be allowed to have a moment of shock?

"Well then" I sighed. "What are we doing standing here?" I asked, already placing Savannah on my hip. "We have a friend in the hospital that needs us to be by his side and we're standing here discussing what to do. Isn't it obvious? Come on, we need to get down to the hospital.

_Riley's POV_

I could barely move without the help of Andy and Jake. They had the kids and they were leading us to the car. To be honest, the only reason I was struggling with this so much was because I just couldn't get over the fact that it had happened to him. Out of all of the people in the world, it had to be him to be injured and he wouldn't have any family to sit with him in the early hours of the morning or any girlfriend. No, he only had us which was why I was so determined to be there for him throughout all of this.

"Are you okay?" Andy asked once we were sitting in the car with the kids sitting on our knees. As much as I wanted to tell him that I was perfectly fine, so he wouldn't worry about me when he had bigger things to worry about it, I couldn't help but shake my head. Was anyone really fine after they found out something as horrible as this. "Look, doctors know what they're doing."

"Talk about stating the obvious" I commented, giving a dry laugh in an effort to brighten the mood in this car, but I knew it was a failed attempt. There was no point in even trying to make a joke in here. You could cut through this atmosphere with a knife.

"I'm sure that whatever has happened to CC, they know how to treat and he'll be home with us very soon" He reassured, but I couldn't accept his words. Doctors slip up all the time. Hey, look what happened to my Mom and my grandparents. If doctors were as good as Andy was preaching, I would still have my Mom and my grandparents would have died much later than they did. They could just as easily slip up with CC and I made it a point to keep reminding myself of that. I didn't want to get my hopes up in the belief that CC was going to be fine in case the worst happened.

"Hey, I know that look" Jake suddenly snapped, looking in the rear-view mirror at me. "Don't you even dare" Even when I'm upset people still shout at me. How is that even fair?

"I don't know what you're talking about" I sighed, too tired and upset to argue. "I was just thinking."

"You were thinking negatively" He accused. "How can you expect CC to pull through this if you don't even believe he can do it?"

As shitty as his words made me feel, I knew that he was right. I couldn't give up on him without a fight. Hey, he just might surprise us. Please, CC, please. Just surprise us.

**Ah, sorry for making this chapter just as depressing as the last. Anyway, I hope you do enjoy this and please review! Oh, and don't forget about the poll! ;) **


	10. Chapter 10

Pulling Me Through Part Three

**So, I hope everyone enjoys this chapter and thanks for all the reviews! Yay, we finally hit double digits for chapters.**

**Lyrics: Hey bartender, can I get a cup? Tonight's my night and I'm getting fucked up**

Chapter Ten

_Andy's POV_

As soon as we got into that hospital, I felt as though I was going to have to sit down to stop myself from falling. How could something like this happen to CC? The world always seems to work in strange ways. I hate it.

"Hi, we're here for Christian Coma" I said, my voice monotone. I had never really been a fan of these places…except for when it was Riley in labour. "Can you tell me what happened to him?"

"He was hit by a car" She answered, giving me a look of pure sympathy. "Come this way." She moved away from her desk and led us through the hospital. My heart was thumping in my chest. CC was hit by a car. You see it in all of those movies. Getting hit by a car is seriously bad. What if CC doesn't make it? I could only imagine how Riley was feeling right now.

"Is he going to be okay?" Jake finally asked the question that I had been too afraid to ask. I didn't want to be told that he only had a few hours left. That would kill me. "I know he's hurt and everything, but he's going to live, right?" Her hesitation made me want to scream.

"Normally I wouldn't answer a question like this" She began. "That's up to Christian's doctor to explain that to you, but I'm going to tell you anyway. With Christian it's difficult. No one can really answer that question. It's a fifty-fifty chance. I'm sorry"

Oh God! I think I'm about to throw up. There's a chance that CC will die. I was too stunned to even move or speak, but I could still feel Riley get closer to me to wrap her arm around my shoulder. She was the one who was trying to be the brave one here.

"Look, we can't just give up on him straight away" She whispered in my ear. "There's still a fifty per cent chance that he'll live. Maybe we'll be lucky." I understood why she was saying all of those things. She wanted to reassure me, keep me strong, so I could be strong for CC and the kids.

"Yeah, you're right" I finally sighed, dropping a kiss on her cheek as Jake picked up Savannah.

"Okay, are you ready to go in?" Riley asked as she took my hand, cradling Zane on her other side. I nodded at her and followed her into the hospital room.

_Riley's POV_

When I walked in, I was beyond shocked. I had been expecting him to be lying on a bed, looking like he was asleep. That had been the only thing that had kept me brave over the past few hours, but when I walked in, that all diminished. He was attached to so many wires and his hair was pulled back. The beep of the machine that he was attached to deafened me.

"Oh my god" I exclaimed before Andy took my hand and pulled me close to him. I couldn't stop the tears from brimming in my eyes, but I sure as hell wasn't going to let them fall. I still wanted to stay brave for everyone.

"Shh, babe" he sighed in my ear. "It's not as bad as you think. In a few days, he'll be fine." I knew that everything he was saying was a lie, but I said nothing. At least it somehow managed to make me feel just a little better about the situation we were in.

"What are we supposed to do?" Jake asked, taking a seat on the seat next to CC. "I don't know how to fix this." I was just about to begin on my bullshit speech about how we all had to stick together for things to turn out right. Really, it doesn't matter if we're all pissed at each other. CC could still die. Just as I opened my mouth to begin, the door cracked open and Scout bounded in. I had texted her about it in secret, knowing that Jake would probably kill me if he had known that she was coming over.

"Oh God, I didn't know it was going to be this bad" She whispered, echoing my thoughts. "Is he going to be alright?"

"Scout, what are you doing here?" Jake asked, standing up again, resting his hands on her shoulders. They still hadn't made up with each other fully, but they were getting there. It would still be a long time until they're like they were before the drugs came into Scout's life. "You shouldn't be here."

"And why is that?" She questioned, raising her eyebrows at him. Even I was still a little pissed at her, but I understood why she was here. CC was her friend too. She had as much a right to be in here as we did. "I've known CC for a while too."

"I hate it when you're right" Jake grumbled, returning to his seat by CC.

"Can you tell me if he's going to be alright or is that too much to ask?" Scout asked, a ghost of a smile fading into her face. At least someone here was being a little more positive. It made me feel as though everything was going to be fine…even though I knew that it wouldn't be as simple as that.

"The doctor said it was going to be a fifty-fifty chance of survival." Jake answered, the look that harboured his face was just like the one that he had when he found out that Mom had died. He had already given up on CC's life. This wasn't good.

"I take it your Christian's friends" A voice said from behind me. I had been so wrapped up in Jake's look of defeat that I hadn't even noticed anyone come in.

"Oh, yes" Andy answered, moving aside, so that the doctor could come in. He went straight over to CC and fiddled with some of the wires. I couldn't watch. It was just too sad. "Um, what are you doing?"

"I need to talk to you about Christian" He said, completely ignoring Andy's question. "Would you like to come to my office, so we can talk in privacy about this?" We followed him up to his office that was unsurprisingly pristine white.

"Is everything okay?" Andy asked, even though he knew that there was no way of knowing that yet.

"Well, I just wanted to make something clear to you guys" The doctor said. "If Christian does make it through this, there are going to be some problems." Why wasn't I surprised? Nothing seemed to go right lately.

"What kind of problems?" I asked. "They can be fixed, right?"

"Well, he's suffered some injuries to the head which will probably slow him down if he does make it. There are going to be a lot of things. For example, swimming and writing. He'll have to be taught that again."

Oh God. The last thing I wanted CC to go through was to have to learn how to write again. That would make him so depressed, but I was more than willing to sit with him for hours on end to teach him these things if I thought it would help him.

"We can deal with that" I finally said. "We're all going to be fully committed to helping him make a full recovery. There's no point in even worrying about that."

"Miss Pitts, you're getting ahead of yourself" The doctor interrupted. What did he mean by that? How was I getting ahead of myself? I was only trying to explain to him that CC was going to be in safe hands when he came back home. And that was when I realised that I had made a mistake. I didn't know if he was ever going to come back home. "There's still the chance that your friend won't make it. I'm sorry."

"No, you don't have to be sorry" I sighed, feeling even sillier as the moments wore on. I had allowed myself to believe that he really would make it when I should be walking on eggshells. "There's nothing you can do but try your best. Thank you, Doctor."

"Is it okay for us to go back to CC?" Andy asked. He was fully prepared to say his goodbyes now if he felt as though he had to, so he could avoid living in regret if something bad was to happen.

"Of course you can" he sighed, pointing at his door. "I'll be up in an hour to check on him again. I'm really sorry about this." We said nothing as we left. Saying sorry was just part of his job. He probably didn't think twice about CC's life.

"Oh, Andy, what are we going to do?" I asked as we began the walk back to the hospital room the CC lay unconscious in.

"Hey, there's nothing we can do but be there for him" Andy assured, taking my hand in this, dropping a kiss to my forehead. "You said yourself that we can't just give up on him straight away. Look, CC is a fighter. He'll make it through this."

_Andy's POV_

All of the words I fed to Riley made me sick. I was talking bullshit. How was I ever supposed to know if CC was going to make it? I can't just fool myself into believing that it could never happen to me. Riley and Jake lost their mom. Who's to say that I won't lose my best friend? At least I knew that the lies I was giving to Riley would give her peace of mind. If I was strong about all of this, she'd feel more reassured.

When we got back to the room that CC was in, it was in uproar. I half expected Jake to tell me that the worst had happened while the Doctor had been talking to us. It wouldn't surprise me.

"What the hell is going on here?" I asked, now realising that they had smiles on their faces. At least something good seems to have come from what I had missed.

"It's CC" Jake cheered. "I swear to God that he just opened his eyes." My heart skipped a beat at that. Please God, let CC open his eyes. Maybe everything really will be okay. Maybe the universe really does want things to go right for us now. Maybe all those things that the Doctor said about CC having to learn how to swim and write again might not happen and we can all just go back to the way things were.

The latter was probably taking things a bit too far, but I could still hope and dream that this would happen. We sat around him and waited for him to do it again. After ten minutes, I gave up on that hope until he started stirring in his bed.

"I'll go get the doctor" Scout shouted as she ran from the room. We all leaned over him and waited for him to wake up properly.

His eyes finally fluttered open properly and they focused on us. CC was going to be okay. Life seemed as though it was going good again. We were just cruising down the highway, no obstacles in our way.

"Who the hell are you?" He asked. And then we came to a shuddering halt.

**Well, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter…even though it was pretty morbid. Oh, so sorry for taking so long to update! Exam season is now over and I've got a week of work experience next week which means no homework, so I'm hoping to get more updates up!**


	11. Chapter 11

Pulling Me Through Part Three

**Well, I had thought that I would be able to get a lot of updates in, but work experience was so tiring. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter and please review!**

**Lyrics: I thought I told ya, I came to party**

Chapter Eleven

_Riley's POV_

At the bottom of my heart, I was praying that he would just break out into laughter and tell us that he was only joking, but I knew that they were empty dreams. There was no way that I would ever be that lucky.

No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't wrap my head around the concept that CC didn't know who I was. How could he not remember me? How could he forget his own band? Could he even remember his own name?

"CC, what are you talking about?" I asked, still praying he would start laughing. Please just let him laugh!

"Who's CC?" He asked. Great, he didn't even remember his own name. How was any of this going to go back to normal? "Would you just get out of here? Look, I don't have a clue who you are or what you want, so please just go. Ah, my head!"

"CC, please be careful" I urged, wanting so badly to just take the pain away from him, but I knew that if I took a step closer to him, he would become scared. "Look, I'll go get the doctor and we'll sort this mess out. I promise you that I will."

"What are you talking about!" He asked, his voice too loud for my liking. I was scaring him and agitating him. "Just get out of my fucking room! Someone help me! Please help me!" It broke my heart to see him acting this way. He seriously thought that we were threats when all we wanted to do was help him. How could he ever forget who we were?

"CC, what are you talking about?" Andy exclaimed, moving out of the way as a doctor ran in with what looked like a worried face. Oh god, what the hell was even happening here? In a matter of hours, I went from having such a great family and amazing friends and now one of them can't even remember who I am…or who they are.

"Get those freaks out of here!" he screamed, desperately trying to get off the bed, but the Doctor was holding him down. "Let me out of here!" Tears were beginning to fall from his eyes as he fought against the doctors. He didn't understand anything that was going on here. Hell, he couldn't even remember that accident and he was surrounded by a bunch of 'strangers.'

"You're hurting him!" I shouted, no longer able to watch CC suffer like he was. "Get off him" At that moment, I didn't think I could ever explain why I was pulling the doctors off CC, but I just knew that I had to.

"Riley, leave it!" Jake warned, not seeing where I was coming from. "It's for the best." Whatever he was saying made absolutely no sense. He didn't deserve to have to deal with this after having that accident. It just didn't seem right to me. After everything had calmed down to the point where I could talk, I sat next to CC and whispered something in his ear.

"Look, I know you don't remember me, but you need to go with the doctors to get checked out." I informed, glad at the fact that he wasn't freaking out as much as he had been. "It won't take long and you'll be in good hands. Just stop freaking out so much."

As soon as I backed away from him, the doctors swooped in again, but CC no longer struggled against them. At least what I had said to him had managed to get him to calm down. Maybe there was still some trust between us. Maybe deep down he knew who I was and knew that he was able to believe the things I told him. I sure as hell hoped so. A part of me told me that that was just a way to make myself feel better.

_Andy's POV_

To watch CC be carted out of that hospital room with tear tracks marked on his face, made my head ache. I was still trying to comprehend how this had even happened. CC's a careful guy. He knows how to look after himself, yet here we are…stuck in a hospital room because he's injured and he can't even remember who we are.

"Do you think he'll be okay?" A small voice asked in the corner. It was Scout who was cradling a crying Savannah and Zane. She had been absolutely silent during the whole ordeal, but it was getting too much for her. "He doesn't even know who we are. What if he never remembers?" It was at that point where I really lost my temper. I stormed over to her with a hard glare.

"Do you think that I haven't already thought about that?" I snapped. "Everyone's been thinking that! Hell, Zane's probably had that thought bouncing around in his blonde little head, but don't even think for a second that there's no hope left for him or I swear to God, you'll never hear the end of it from me."

"Hey, Andy" Jake warned, his eyes showing me that he wasn't in the mood for my petty arguments. "Give it a rest. Everyone is feeling a little touchy right now, but this isn't about you, Scout or me. It's about CC. We need to be there for him even if he doesn't remember who we actually are. He'd do it for us." As much as I really wanted to give Scout a piece of my mind, I knew that he was right and there was no point in telling Scout how I really felt about the lack of faith she had in CC.

"Whatever, man" I grumbled, taking Savannah away from Scout. There was no way I was going to admit that he was right. I was already too pissed off to even think straight. "How long are they going to be with him? I need to speak to him."

_CC's POV_

I didn't have a clue what was going on here. Who were those people who were visiting me? Why does my head hurt so fucking much! Why did I even listen to that girl? I should have kept struggling. At least I would probably still be tucked up in bed without people prodding at my head and looking in my eyes with a stupid torch.

This didn't even resemble what a hospital should be like. Whitewashed walls with beds lined up everywhere, most showing their burlap ticking. We're not wanted here. This is more like a prison than anything else. No home comforts or anything to take the edge away from this place. How do they except me to get my memory back in a place like this?

"Seriously, what the hell are you doing?" I questioned after the hundredth tap on my head that seemed to be hurting like a motherfucker. "You're hurting me, dude"

"We're sorry about this, Christian, but it needs to be done" The doctor sighed as he prodded again. Who's this Christian guy? With a final sigh, he sat down in front of me and gave a warm smile that I could only perceive as creepy. "You have amnesia, Christian. I can't determine if it's going to be long or short term, but I can tell you that this is common after head traumas. You were knocked over by a car and your head took quite the bashing. There isn't anything that we can really do for you. Your memories will come back to you on their own in due time."

I was stunned. I could hear a word he was saying because the words 'knocked over by a car' were repeating so loudly in my head. Had that really happened to me? Why couldn't I just remember it? It would make things a hell of a lot easier. I wanted to know everything about what happened! I needed to know who the driver was and what was going to be done about it.

"What am I going to do?" I asked, cutting the doctor off in his stupid speech that I didn't really give a shit about. If what he was saying was true, my life was very much over. I probably wouldn't recognise my own mother if she walked in right now. I'll have to start my whole life from scratch again.

"Look, you should talk to your friends in there" The doctor sighed as he pointed to where my room was. "They may say things that will help you to remember." I didn't want to go in there again, but I was willing to try anything if he felt as though it would make me get my memory back. Anything would be worth it for my precious memories, but that didn't stop me from growing scared at the prospect of talking to them.

"What if it doesn't?" I questioned, already believing that it wasn't going to work. How could it?

"Then we'll try another way" He said simply. "Whatever happens, we're not going to give up on you. I'm going to make sure that you make a full recovery if it's the last thing I do." Even though I had just met him, his words comforted me and I found myself believing them. Maybe all of this was just an overreaction. He said it was a common thing, so I must be able to overcome it, right?

It's just going to take a little time and effort, but I'll get there in the end. Things will work out…they have to.

"Okay, I'll go talk to them now" I finally sighed, deciding that a little bit of fear and nervousness was worth it to get my memory back. Heck, anything was worth it for that. "Wish me luck, doc"

"Good luck, Christian" He sighed, already going to my side to help me back to the room. It was a little disheartening to still realise that I wasn't convinced that my name was Christian. I had no memories of anyone calling me that.

Once I made it to the room, they all gazed at me as though they believed that I was a bomb ready to explode. I hadn't really treated them very nicely just before.

"I still don't know who you are" I sighed, feeling as though I could be leading them on. "The doctor told me that if I talked to you guys it might trigger some of my memory. I figured I might as well try it."

"CC, we'll help you as much as we can" The girl with the black hair sighed. What was her name? "Sit down and you can ask us whatever you want. I'll make sure that this mess gets sorted." I did as she told me and perched on the bed as the nurse fluffed my pillows and gave me a comforting smile.

"If there's anything I can get you, just shout" She urged. Jesus, was this a hotel or something?

"Who are you guys?" I asked. Yes, it was blunt, but it was something that I needed to know. I didn't know their names and I didn't have a clue where I knew them from.

"I'm Riley" The paternalistic woman said. "This is Andy, Jake, Scout and these two are Savannah and Zane…they're mine and Andy's kids."

"How do I know you?" I interrogated. I wanted to get everything out of them that I could. I was determined to go back to how things used to be.

"We're all good friends" She explained. "You're in a band with Andy and Jake. Anything else you need to know?"

"Oh, trust me" I sighed. "I have a lot left to ask you. You might want to make yourself comfortable because I'm going to be asking a lot of questions"

**So sorry for taking this long to update. I'm a horrible person, I know! Anyway, I still hope you enjoyed this chapter even though it was a little sad and please leave me some feedback! It's much appreciated, thank you.**


	12. Chapter 12

Pulling Me Through Part Three

**There are a few notices that need to be brought to attention. Firstly, I've finished with school for the summer, so that means six weeks of no school, meaning that updates should be a lot more frequent. I'd love to get part three finished by the end of the summer holidays, but I doubt that I'll have enough time to actually do that. Secondly, I've been on holiday for two weeks, so the updates haven't been up in a long time because I haven't been able to get any internet through this holiday, but I have had time to write a few chapters that are going to be interesting, so I hope you enjoy them and I also think that a new Andy Six story is on the cards, so look out for that.**

**Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter and please drop off a review!**

**Lyrics: I think I'll try defying gravity. Kiss me goodbye, I'm defying gravity.**

Chapter Twelve

_Riley's POV_

"What do you want to know?" I asked him, taking the purple chair that stood directly next to his bed; fixing him with the brightest smile I have ever given in a weak attempt to make him feel comfortable around us. I understood how hard this must be for him. After all, he had completely forgotten practically everything, yet we were claiming to be his best friends. That must be a pretty hard thing to get your head around, I'm sure.

"I need to know what happened in that stupid accident that landed me here" He spat, clearly still furious about the situation. Well, who wouldn't be? How was I supposed to explain what happened to him? This was probably going to be one of the hardest things I have ever had to do.

"Well, there isn't really much to say" Andy started. I was so grateful that he had taken that responsibility. I really didn't think that I would be able to deal with explaining this to him. "We're not entirely sure of all the details. We know the rough idea of what happened."

"You were knocked over by a car" Jake blurted, burying his head in his hands. It didn't take a genius to figure out that he was crying. Scout wrapped an arm around him and kissed his head. Jake was sensitive about this sort of stuff. He had been ever since Mom died. I could only imagine how bad this must feel for him. He was probably still convinced that he could lose CC at any moment. "And now you can't even remember who we are."

CC looked stunned by Jake's outburst. He hadn't realised how affecting this had been to everyone else. It was taking its toll on everyone involved.

"Look, if you really are my best friends then I'm sure I'll remember who you guys are" He assured. My heart swelled at him. Even though he had to deal with all of this like we were, he was still the one to put on a brave face and support others who he couldn't even remember. It's times like these when I wished that I could be more like him. He's just so brave. "It's just going to take some time and hard work, but I'm sure I'll get there in the end. Just trust me."

"I'm sorry" Jake sighed, finally picking his head up from his hands. "It's just that we were doing so well. We were in a great band and we had two babies in the family. Everything was excellent and now you don't even know who we are."

"Jake, can you come outside with me for a minute?" I questioned, but I didn't bother waiting for a response. I just stood up and pulled him out of the room with me. I didn't want to do this either. "Look, I know that this is hard for you, but you need to get a hold on your emotions. This is going to make things harder for CC. Do you think you can do that? For him?"

"Sorry, Riley" He sighed. "This is too hard for people to cope with. I'll be better this time." I didn't want him to be disappointed in himself, but I did want him to be a strong person for CC.

_CC's POV_

Andy was just in the middle of telling me about the band that I was apparently in when Riley and Jake returned. I could only acknowledge them for a moment because I was so absorbed in listening to Andy's story. Even though I couldn't remember it, I was glad that it was there because it sounded like one hell of a life. I just wish that I could remember it.

"Oh god and there was this one time when we were on tour and you met this girl and…" Andy started, but his worlds trailed off once he remembered that Riley was sitting in the room with his daughter and son bundled up in her arms. She did not look that happy. "Actually it wasn't that funny."

"No, Andy, please continue" Riley said. "I'd love to hear all about this story"

"No, it's okay" He averted, giving me a look that told me that he would tell me as soon as Riley wasn't in the room. I already liked Andy. He felt familiar, but I still couldn't place him. This wasn't going to be an easy thing to do. It was almost as though I had known him in a past life. It was just too hard to explain. It was like the memories were just niggling away at the back of my mind, but I couldn't grip them firmly enough to remember them. It was a feeling that I wouldn't wish on anyone…not even my worst enemy.

"How are you feeling, CC?" Riley asked. I couldn't remember anything about her, but from the small amount of time I spent with her I could tell that she was definitely the mother of the group. She had her children with her as though they were one of her body parts. Without them, she simply wouldn't work. And that was why I loved her so much, regardless of missing some memories.

_Andy's POV_

No one told me that having a fiancée would make it impossible to talk about girls. I had to keep my mouth shut sometimes. There was going to be hell to pay when we got home. Well, Riley wasn't like that. She understands that sometimes on tour there are temptations and girls that I think are good-looking. The most important thing is that she understood that I would never do the dirty on her.

"Hey, that doctor is hot" Riley sighed as she leaned out of the hospital room and looked wistfully at him. God, she has a nerve. I swear she thinks I'm not here sometimes even though I had been sitting with my arm around her.

"Well, that's rubbing salt into the wound" I sighed, fixing her with a glare that was probably failing because every time I look at her gorgeous face and remember the fact that I'm going to be marrying that woman soon, I realise that there is no way that I can be mad at her.

"Well, he wasn't even my type anyway" She sighed as she took her seat next to me again and I draped my arm over her shoulder again, the position feeling so comfortable and right. "I only said it to get on your nerves after what you said about that girl on tour" Something told me that she was actually a bit miffed about it.

"Babe, I'm sorry" I apologised, burying my head deep into her hair, suddenly wishing that was had more privacy than we did. "You know that I didn't mean anything by it. It didn't even really have anything to do with me. It was just CC trying to score with her."

"God, would you two give it a rest" CC voiced from his bed. "It's like when you first started dating and you couldn't keep your hands off each other." I laughed for a moment, the fond memory of how we used to act when we were just seventeen fresh in my mind. All I could remember were the stolen kisses I used to get whenever Jake wasn't looking and the countless nights that we'd just stay up and crack jokes…along with making out.

That all ended a little too soon for my liking when Riley found out that she was pregnant. That was when my mind got a little depressing as I thought about how great it would be if Savannah had an older brother or sister and if Zane could get up to his boyish mischief with his older brother, but then I remembered that I would have ever got the chance to hold Savannah tightly in my arms if our first child hadn't been lost. It's a bittersweet fact.

It was at that moment that I realised what had just happened. How did I even miss that and go on to think about my dead child?

"Did you just say what I think you said?" I asked, my eyes widening. How did that even happen? I prayed to God that it wasn't just a trick of my imagination because I had wanted this so badly.

"What are you talking about?" CC asked, confused. He hadn't even realised what he had just done. It had been such a casual thing for him to bring up…until the accident.

"You've just remembered something" I laughed, so relieved that this could have really happened. "Do you really remember what it was like when we first started dating? Do you remember it as though you were there?"

"Gosh, you're right" CC agreed, the shock of his remembrance finally catching up to him. This must have felt like such a huge breakthrough to him. He had been convinced that he was never going to get his memory back, after all. "Yes, I remember how everything was. You used to kiss each other when we were watching movies because you thought that nobody could tell because the room was dark, but we were all sitting awkwardly because we didn't know what to say, but we could hear absolutely everything."

Riley flushed scarlet, probably asking God why it had to be that memory that CC remembered. She was so embarrassed that she had been that silly to think that kissing in the dark and under a blanket would stop anyone from realising what we were doing.

"Oh god, I'll be shoving my head in a vice if anyone needs me" She moaned, refusing to meet anyone's eyes.

"Hey, you have no clue how bad it was for us" Jake laughed. "Countless times I wanted to kill Andy for what he was doing."

"Oh please, stop talking before I cry" She whined, shoving her head onto my shoulder, so she could pretend as though none of this was happening.

"Hey, at least I remembered something" CC finally sighed, probably glad that he was taking the spotlight from Riley. She soon pulled away from her hiding place and stood up to go to CC where she dropped a kiss on his head and gave him a hard hug, showing how much pride she had in him at the fact that he was starting to remember things,

"I'm so proud of you, CC" She whispered, not caring that she was probably crushing him in her hug. "And I just know that there are going to be so many more memories for you to uncover and you're doing well. Just be patient and I'm sure that they'll all just be remembered. Give it a time."

"Thanks, Ry" He sighed. And there's another one. Hopefully this will actually work out!

**Well, this chapter was a little nicer than the ones previously even though there was that small part with the miscarriage mentioned. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this update and please review!**


	13. Chapter 13

Pulling Me Through Part Three

**Well, I hope you enjoy and please review! This one will be a break from the CC storyline. It'll be the trip that Scout and Jake were going to take that has been mentioned beforehand, so it will be in their pov's.**

**Lyrics: Just like before I should've told you again. I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry**

Chapter Thirteen

_Jake's POV_

"Look, everything will be fine for a couple of days without you two being here" Bailey laughed as she handed me one of the bags. "There are plenty of people who can help out with CC"

"I know, but I feel so bad" I sighed. "What if he remembers something and I'm not there, or if something bad happens to him."

"Jake, everything is going to be fine" Ashley said. "We're going to be here. All you need to worry about is giving Scout a romantic trip. Now go before you miss your flight." Well, it didn't take a genius to work out that I wasn't wanted.

"I'll see you guys later" I sighed as I took Scout's hand and made my way to the taxi outside to take us to the airport.

"Have a safe trip" Bailey shouted out the door as she gave us both a big wave and the taxi set off. God, I had been looking forward to this for months and we were finally getting to do it. I was going to be taking my girlfriend to England for a romantic getaway. Who would've thought?

…

The only thing that managed to keep me sane when we were at the airport was listening to all the plans that Scout had made for us. She had written down a list of places that she wanted us to go to and what she wanted us to do when we were there. She had museums, farms and themes parks scrawled down on a white piece of paper.

"Christ, that's a lot of things you want to do while we're there" I laughed. Well, it didn't look like I was going to be able to spend my break just watching television like I had hoped.

"Yeah, I just can't wait to see what it's like out there" She sighed before a huge grin was plastered on her face. "Come on, we're boarding" She led me to a gate and showed the woman with the tight suit on her passport and boarding pass before shoving people out of her way, so she could get to the plane first. I followed straight after her as we made our way to the coach that took you to the plane. I could feel myself growing more and more excited at the fact that England was merely hours away from me. I had always wanted to visit there.

Once the coach pulled up to the steps leading to the plane, Scout pushed forward again, knocking everyone and everything out of our way. She hammered up the steps, repeatedly smacking me in the face with her carry-on luggage. God, I didn't know it was possible for her to get so excited over anything.

As soon as we stepped onto the plane, I got that familiar cramped feeling that I always got. It was impossible for anyone to walk up the aisle of a plane without stumbling into every seat on the way up.

"What are our seats?" I asked as I squinted at my boarding pass.

"B7 and B8" She answered as she led me a little further up the plane and pointed at our seats. I shuffled into mine after putting our carry-on luggage into the overhead compartments. As soon as we thumped down into our seats, we twitched with excitement.

"I can't wait till we set off" I sighed as I watched Scout pull a book out of her handbag. How could she read when she was about to go to England? God, I was struggling to stay in my own bloody seat.

"Me neither" She agreed.

…

It didn't take long for us to be in the air and it didn't take long for the flight attendant to announce that we would be there in half an hour. Where did all the time go? I had been so absorbed with looking out the window that the time just seeped away from me.

_Scout's POV_

I couldn't stop thinking about what England was going to be like. Yes, it was going to be cold and wet, but it was going to be freaking England! Who couldn't be excited about that!? I was so excited to get onto the caravan site that Jake was taking me to even though it was only a caravan site. I used to love going on these kinds of vacations when I was with my dad and it felt great to relive my youth.

When the light snapped on to signal that we had to put our seatbelts on, I closed my book and leaned against Jake. "I love you for this" His gaze left the window for the first time during the flight and he wrapped his arm around me and squeezed.

"I love you too" He mumbled, pressing a kiss to my head. I just couldn't wait to get there, so I could begin this vacation with Jake.

The plane began to descend and everyone began to take on the facial expressions of excited. It didn't take long for the plane to bounce onto the ground and come to a stop as everyone juddered around. God, I loved plane rides. As soon as the plane came to a full halt, the light faded and movement began as people pulled off their seatbelts and made a move to leave. I moved away from my seat, got the hand luggage and stood in the aisle as I waited for the plane door to open, so we could leave. This was always the most awkward moment of the journey. It was so uncomfortable and cramped.

"Oh, dear god!" A girl in front of me squealed when she caught sight of me. "It's Scout Taylor-Compton" Well, that came as a surprise. It had always been Jake that everyone recognised when we were out. I was still waiting to make my big break. I was nothing special…well, this girl thought I was.

"Um, hi" I greeted. I wasn't exactly sure how I was supposed to react to this. I'd never been in this kind of situation before. That didn't mean that I didn't like it, though.

"I've seen all of the movies that you've been in" She rambled as her face gleamed with excitement. Wow, I had no idea that I could have that kind of effect on someone. "You're like my idol. I've started going to an arts school because I saw you act and it made me want to do it."

The girl spoke for ages about how much she loved my skills. She only stopped when we got in separate taxis and even that was after the longest hug I had ever experienced in my life. Even so, it felt nice to be appreciated like that.

As soon as the girl had vanished into her taxi, Jake turned to me with a huge grin on his face. "Congratulations on that" he laughed. He had known how worked up I often got when everyone ran to him. "That'll be the first of many" Even though that was probably a long shot, I found myself grinning at the idea. I would give anything to have people adore me like they did the band…as vain as that may sound.

"Well, we can only hope" I laughed as the taxi driver pulled away. "It must be something to do with England" I fixed my gaze on the window of the car as I thought about the girl and England. God, this day was surely going to be the best one of my life.

We passed fields full of sheep and cows before we reached the caravan site we were going to be staying on. It looked as though it was slap bang in the middle of nowhere, but our driver told us that it was only a small walk until you got to the sea and a café. It looked as though there would be enough on the site to keep us entertained for the duration of our stay. There was a pool hall, a bingo hall, a swimming pool, an arcade, a children's entertainment bar, an adult bar and even a park. What more could I ask for?

"Do you like it?" Jake asked as we walked into the reception area to collect our keys for the caravan. When we received them, it was one key with a big 'F1' carved in it. We walked over to where our caravan was.

"Yeah, it's great" I answered as I looked around at what was surrounding us. The scent here was different, the air felt different. It was just like how I would have expected it, though. "Let's unpack" Jake slotted the key in the door and pulled it open.

It wasn't much special, but it was all I could dream of. Simplicity was the key to a happy life. A small television stood in the corner of the room and a couch spread across the edge of the caravan. The kitchen was smaller than my bathroom at home and the bathroom here wasn't big enough for me to stretch my arms out at all.

"Hmm, we should make good use of the bedroom" Jake laughed as he followed me with his arms resting firmly on my hips. I could feel his breath on my neck as he pressed gentle kisses to the back of my head. My heart clenched as my heart raced. Even though he always came out with things like this, it still made me so excited. I still felt like a giddy school girl with a crush on the teacher.

"You're never very subtle, are you?" I laughed. It was the only thing that stopped me from losing my mind under his touch. "I thought you had more tact than that." His kisses never stopped trailing my neck as he laughed.

"Oh honey, you know I never have any tact" he reminded. Oh god, he amused me so much sometimes. "You're my girlfriend; I don't need to be subtle with you." I turned in his arms and wrapped my arms around his neck. He leaned forward, pressing a small kiss to my lips. Well, at least he was being gentle with me today.

"You should always be subtle" I chastised, pulling away from him before he got a chance to kiss me properly. Gosh, he smelled so good. He always used to tell me he only ever put some aftershave on…the rest was his natural odour. Yeah right!

"Whatever you say, Scouty" He laughed. My stomach clenched at his familiar nickname he used for me that held so much intimacy. I stepped out of his arms and threw his jacket over at him as I shrugged my own on. "Where are you going?" He questioned. His face told me only too well that he really didn't want to go out when he could have had me here.

"Come on, I'll buy you a pint if you're really lucky" I laughed as I pulled the door open and allowed the bitter wind to slap me right in the face. At least it felt refreshing.

"You are insufferable" He whined before he shrugged his jacket on and followed me out, dropping a quick kiss on my cheek. This was going to be a lovely stay.

**So sorry for not updating in ages! I got into a new hobby that took a lot out of me and I just couldn't find the time to actually sit down and just write. Hope you enjoy it, anyway. Oh, and I'll try to update a little quicker this time XD**


	14. Chapter 14

Pulling Me Through Part Three

**Again, so sorry for the late update! I guess I've been pretty busy in the last few weeks. Anyway, this chapter is centred on Jake and Scout again. Hope you enjoy and please review!  
Lyrics: I want a girl with lips like morphine. Knock me out every time they touch me. I want to feel a kiss just crush me and break me down.**

Chapter Fourteen

_Jake's POV_

Caravan holidays just didn't suit me. I already had long, lanky legs…they barely fit in the bloody room that I was sleeping in. Scout suited it, though. She was petite and snuggled up in the bed next to me, a hoodie wrapped around her as her hair spilled over her shoulders, her eyes clamped tightly shut as she smiled at whatever was going through her head in her unconscious state.

My arm sneaked around her shoulders as I rested my head on hers. In a moment like this, I felt intoxicated by her. She was the only thing I could smell, taste and hear. Her whole body and essence was the only thing that mattered to me at that moment.

It was at times like this when I just couldn't bring myself to get out of bed. I didn't want to leave her side and I certainly didn't want her to move her arm from around my waist. Ever since the drug issue, I had been even more protective of her than I was in the first place. She just thought that I didn't trust her, but it was more than that. Of course I trusted her, but I didn't want to take any chances. I couldn't let her slip into that mess again.

But my life wasn't based around helping Scout's. As much as I wished it was, I couldn't live my own life with concern for her wrapped around me constantly. With that thought fresh in my mind, I pushed up from the bed and stumbled into the kitchen. I couldn't get over how much Scout had changed me in the time we had been dating. If you had told me two years ago that I would be completely head over heels for one girl who had put me through so much shit, I would have told you that you were thinking about the wrong Jake. It just so wasn't me…yet Scout made it me.

"What are you doing up so early?" A soft voice asked from the bedroom, snapping me out of my thoughts. When I turned around to face her, she was sitting up in the double bed, her hair ruffled beyond all thought possible.

"Ah, it's pretty cramped in this caravan" I explained as I began to make two cups of coffee. God, what would I do without caffeine!? "I struggled getting to sleep"

"You're such a city boy" She laughed as she slipped away from the bed and staggered over to me. Even when she had just woken up, she was still beautiful. "I've made plans for us to go to Burton Agnes Hall"

"Thanks for asking me first" I laughed as I pulled a fresh shirt over my chest. She gave me a look that told me not to argue.

"Get your shoes on and we'll go to that car hire place in ten minutes" She instructed, already pulling her hair into a tight bun.

"I'll see you then" I chuckled at her craziness.

_Scout's POV_

After several scares of Jake driving on the wrong side of the road, we finally made it to Burton Agnes Hall.

"God, England needs to be more like America" Jake grumbled as he pulled his hood over his head to shield his hair from the rain that was just beginning to fall. Gosh, anything to protect his precious hair. He was getting worse than Andy.

"Jake, it doesn't matter if you're in England or America…you'll always be a bad driver" I joked as we walked up the gravel path that led to the house.

"Wow, Scout" He started. "You've said some pretty mean things in the past, but this tops it all off." He laced his fingers through mine and led me into the house. Jesus, and I thought the gardens were impressive with their overwhelming amounts of roses and lilies. The house was a total mind fuck. Surely something this amazing and beautiful shouldn't be possible.

"This is so cool" I said as I stepped further into the first room which was decked out in old furniture. Several wicker chairs stood in the corner around an old piano and an ornate rug lay in the centre. I had something about old houses that I just found so amazing. I would give anything to have lived in this time frame.

"I never knew that you were so interested in things like this" Jake commented as we walked through each room. I could tell that every single bedroom we visited was annoying and boring him, but I just couldn't tear myself away. Growing up, I used to ask my dad almost every day if he would buy a house like this for me to live in…of course he never had the money, but it was still nice to dream about it as a child.

"I've always liked it" I sighed as I took a seat one of the chairs that you were actually allowed to sit on. "There's something about these houses that make them look so awesome."

"You're so weird sometimes" Jake laughed as he took my hand and we walked back into the gardens. They weren't quite as good, but they were pretty fun. That giant chess set had me excited for ages. The bees and wasps were a different story. I definitely wasn't a big fan of them stinging me to hell and back.

"My hands are going to drop off" I moaned as we sat on one of the benches in a secluded area of the gardens. The rain had stopped and the sun was finally beginning to come out. It wasn't enough to make me want to take off my jacket, but it was enough to warm my bones.

Jake sat with his arm draped over my shoulders, his head buried deep into my hair. This wasn't the kind of day he enjoyed very much…I probably shouldn't have dragged him here.

"Well, you need to start repelling bees and wasps" Jake advised as if I didn't already know. Gosh, sometimes his advice really pissed me off…but I loved him anyway.

"If I had that power, I wouldn't be in this situation right now" I sighed as I fixed him with my best glare. It soon fell as soon as he flashed me that movie star grin of his that always made me weak at the knees.

"Jesus, why are we even here?" He questioned as he looked round the gardens with disgust marked on his face. Yep, definitely shouldn't have brought him here. He hates every minute of it. Was I the only one out of my group of friends who actually liked nature and some cultural history? Maybe Riley would take my side on this one…she's always seemed slightly cultural.

"Well, I thought it might do you some good…but apparently not" I answered as I rested my head on his shoulder, my eyes closed as I allowed the sun to beat down on me. The draught in the air still made it hard to be completely warm.

"Sorry, Scouty" He sighed "But this place is shit." I grinned at his blunt words. God, he never knew how to have some tact. Reluctantly, I opened my eyes and stood up from the wooden bench that was ever so comfy. He looked at me confused, but still took my hand willingly when I offered it to him.

"Come on, let's go back to the site" I laughed. I really shouldn't have dragged him here. I knew before we even set foot out of the door that he was going to hate it with a passion. "We'll go to the bar tonight…it's the least I can do after making you sit here for a few hours."

"Thank God!" Jake cheered. "Finally some alcohol will enter my system. It'll probably numb the pain that this place has imposed."

When we reached the car, Jake was still nattering on about how glad he was to be out of this place when he stopped abruptly.

"Scouty, I got you a present" He said as he gave me a look of pride as he pressed his lips to my cheek. He rummaged around in his jacket pocket before pulling something that looked like a little wooden ball. It took me a moment to work out what it was but, when I did, my jaw dropped. It was one of the drawer knobs from the Victorian house.

"How the hell did you get that?" I breathed as I took it from his hands and inspected it closer. He couldn't possibly have done that. I was with him the whole time…how did I not notice?

"Do you remember when I was acting so interested in the piece of information on the wall?" He questioned. "I had to, so I could stand close to the drawers and screw it off without anybody else noticing."

I wanted to tell Jake how stupid he had been and how reckless it was for him to steal a piece of Victorian furniture from a museum, but my heart was swelling. He stole me something that he really thought I would like. He just gets cuter and cuter as the days slip by.

It took a heartbeat for my arms to be wrapped tightly around his neck as his encircled my waist. This really was shaping up to be one of the best days of my life. He leaned away from me for just a moment before pressing his lips firmly against my own. They moulded together and moved like the wind, never stopping in one place for very long. His kiss seemed to be gentle and sweet, yet I could taste the raw hunger he held.

"Let's get back to the site" He mumbled in my mouth before sealing it with another kiss. I couldn't even comprehend his statement, never mind find the words to answer.

"Okay" I finally breathed. Jake snapped away from me and pushed the keys in ignition before driving down the gravel path and onto the highway.

"Jake, get on the right side of the road" I shouted once we were almost back on the site. He swerved swiftly onto the right side. Jesus, you'd think he'd be more careful after what had happened with CC.

"Sorry, I keep forgetting" He sighed. "This place is so complicated." I didn't reply…my lips were too busy yearning for his. Oh, I just wanted him to kiss me like he did just before.

When he finally parked the car up, he returned his lips to mine, his hands holding my neck firmly as mine rested on his chest. This wasn't exactly dignified, but I really didn't care. The only thing that crossed my mind at this moment was Jake. He was the only thing I could think about…he intoxicated me.

"Come on" He grunted as he pulled away for a moment to get out the car. As soon as he was out, he marched over to my side of the car and helped me out before pulling me into the caravan and then resuming what he had started. It was at that moment that any thoughts or worries of CC and how he was coping vanished from my head. There was only Jake.

**Yeah, I know. It's taken me absolutely forever to update! Really sorry about that, guys. The next update will probably take a while as well because, let's face it, it's me and I have incredibly bad time management. Anyways, I hope you enjoy this chapter and please drop a review off on your way out!**


	15. Chapter 15

Pulling Me Through Part Three

**It has been absolutely ages since I last updates for which I apologise profusely about. Again, I would like to say that updates are probably going to be slow. Sadly, probably slower than normal because I have just started writing a final fantasy x novelization, a vampire academy story and a new Andy Six story. I'm aware that I'm probably biting off more than I can chew here, but I just couldn't help myself. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter and please review! Oh, this chapter will also go back to being in Riley and Andy's point of views.**

Lyrics: I used to be love drunk, but now I'm hungover. I'll love you forever, forever is over.

Chapter Fifteen

_Riley's POV_

Ever since Jake and Scout had left for England, everything felt like it had been closing in. There were two people less to go visit CC in the hospital which meant that I had to take on more responsibility there and they weren't there to help me look after Zane and Savannah either. I know that these things are probably only little, but they were suffocating me, at the minute. I honestly didn't feel like I could deal with all of this.

Andy had been trying absolutely everything to make me feel better and less stressed. He had been taking the kids to see my dad almost every day, so I could get an hour or so of rest and he had been going to see CC more often, so I wouldn't have to.

This happens to me occasionally. It's the moment where I kind of just hit rock bottom. It's the moment when everything just gets a little bit too much for me to cope with and I just need a good cry, so I can make my way into feeling better again. I had been like this ever since my Mom died. Things got on top of me, I'd have a moment where I just cried before I started feeling better again and then the vicious circle would start again perhaps a year or so later.

Today was the day that I was going to take CC out for the day, so he wouldn't be stuck staring at the same four walls all the time. He had told Andy just the other day that he was getting incredibly bored in there. He said that he missed doing all the old things that he used to take for granted before the accident. This meant that I was stuck with taking CC swimming again for the first time since the crash.

When I found out, I wasn't exactly thrilled about it, but CC was like my little brother. I'd do anything for him if it meant he'd be happy…no matter how much I didn't want to do it.

When I arrived at the hospital, the nurses had him already standing at the door.

"Make sure he's back before dinner time, so he can take his medication" The nurse instructed. I nodded repeatedly making sure that I was taking it all in. "Don't let him overdo it there. That's the last thing we want."

As soon as they were done talking, CC piled into the car and smiled widely at me.

"Thanks so much for doing this" He sighed. "I've been wanting to get out of that room for so long. I don't care how gorgeous and sexy those nurses can be, I am tired of looking at the same four walls."

"Yep, it must be so hard to look at all those nurses in uniforms" I joked as I pulled away from the parking lot and then onto the main highway that led to the leisure centre that CC normally used.

"You have no idea how excited I am to swim again" CC cheered as we drove. I smiled at him…it was the first time I had truly been amused in over a week.

"What if you've forgotten how to do it?" I questioned. I knew that it probably wasn't wise to say something like that to him, but I was too curious to just bite my tongue.

"How do you mean?" He asked, raising his eyebrows at me as though I was stupid. I was sure it could happen. I'd seen it on some television programme years ago.

"Well, you forgot most of your memories after the accident" I reminded him. I tried to ignore the look of sadness on his face when I brought it up. "What if you've forgotten how to swim? I don't want to upset your or anything…I'm just saying that it's possible."

"I don't know if I've forgotten" He mumbled. "I guess we'll find out" He began to fidget in his chair. He scratched at his hands, drummed on his legs and bit at his lip. It seemed that I had really freaked him out with my question. I didn't mean to…I only wanted him to be aware of it before he got too excited and his day was crushed.

"Hey, stop worrying" I sighed as I leaned over and patted him on the shoulder. "I'm sure you'll be just fine. You're the undefeatable CC, remember?" Even though my words weren't exactly very clever or anything, they still seemed to make him feel a little better about the situation.

"Well, I am pretty awesome" He laughed as he pushed himself out of the car once we were parked up outside of the leisure centre. His smile soon dropped to a frown. This happened rather often around CC. It didn't matter how cheerful he was at some point…it was always so easy for him to end up feeling miserable as quickly as clicking your fingers. "I just wish I could still play drums as well as I used to be able to."

Of course that was something that was getting him down. Playing drums was his way of life. That was his only plan. If that failed on him, he had no other passion or way of making money. Going through all of this must be so shit for him.

"Hey, all of that will come back to you" I assured as I wrapped an arm around his shoulders as we walked in. "The doctor said that this can happen. Your memory is just taking a little vacation. As soon as it comes back, you'll be able to do everything that you used to be able to do…especially drumming."

"Thanks, Riley" He sighed, stopping at the partition that led to the girl's section and the men's. "Meet me at the poolside."

"I'll see you in five minutes" I said before I disappeared into one of the changing rooms.

_CC's POV_

As soon as I was changed I stood at the mirrors, breathing deeply. I still couldn't tell if this was what I wanted to do. I was just so sick of looking at the same four walls. I had to get out…I had to do something that would get me out of that damned room.

I had just been knocked over and could barely even remember my own name at the best of times…how was I expected to jump into water and start swimming? Oh, I was in for a long day.

Even though I was petrified for my life, I took a few steps to get to the poolside. Riley was already waiting for me with a black bikini on and her hair tied up in a tight bun. She looked at me with concern flashing in her eyes. Even she knew that it shouldn't have taken me that long to get ready.

"Are you alright?" She asked as she began to walk into the shallow part of the pool. This looked like something I could handle. Any deeper and I would probably end up having a panic attack or something similar.

"Yeah, I'm fine" I sighed. "Just a little nervous" She took my hand in her own and led me slightly deeper. The water was cold, yet refreshing. I could understand why I enjoyed it so much before the accident. Right now, it sent me into a bit of a panic. I couldn't swim…I couldn't manage this. Riley continued to lead me deeper and deeper. Once the water had reached my waist, I had to make her stop. I seriously couldn't manage any deeper.

"Okay, it may not look it, but swimming is super easy" She promised. I'm not a teacher, but I'll still try. "All you need to do is keep your face in the water and keep coming out for breaths, slice through the water with your hands and kick your legs."

"Is that all?" I asked. I still believed that I would end up screwing it up majorly. Heck, maybe I'd forget to do the taking breaths part and accidently faint in the water and die. Yes, my imagination is a little too overactive.

"Yeah, that's all" She answered. "Do you want to give it a try? I'll hold your hands and pull you with me. I promise you won't get hurt." After taking a deep breath and calming my nerves, I nodded and gave her my hands. Once I was on my stomach, I found it a lot easier than what I thought it was going to be like. I seemed to just float on the surface of the water as she held my hands and began to pull me along with her. I kicked my legs gently, making us gain speed. When she let go of my hands to let me do it on my own, I began to grow scared. I was convinced that halfway through a lap of the pool, I would just forget how to do it again and then the death would happen.

Even with all of my doubts with myself, I managed to make the lap and once I returned to Riley, I was greeted with a soaking wet hug. She laid a kiss on my cheek and laughed loudly.

"CC, I am so proud of you" She cheered. I hadn't expected a reaction quite like this one, but I received it with gratitude anyway. "I can't believe you managed to do a whole lap."

"So, what's there to do now, teacher?" I asked as I fixed her with probably my sloppiest grin of all time. "Or have I already mastered your class?" She gave me a playful glare before pointing at the top end of the pool. It was the area where I had grown most nervous, but it hadn't been as bad as I thought it would be. I still didn't get what it was that she wanted me to do. Her pointing at it didn't help me one bit.

"I'll take you back to the hospital if you manage to jump into the deep end of the pool and swim back to me" She explained. I could feel my eyes bug out. There was no way in hell that I was going to manage that…but that didn't mean I couldn't try.

_Riley's POV_

He stepped out of the pool with a sloppy grin on his face and walked down to the deep end. I tried to ignore the way he was shaking, but it was hard. If he managed this, I would probably cheer the roof off of this place. He stood at the deep end edge and looked down. This was probably going to be the part where he backed out. He took two steps back and that was when I thought he was going to walk away, but he simply took a running jump and then dove before swimming back to me.

It didn't take long for my tears to fall. Once they started, I couldn't stop them. As soon as CC got back he pulled me into a hug.

"What's wrong?" He questioned.

"I've just needed to cry for so long" I laughed. "Man, I'm proud of you."

**Yeah, that was a very cheesy chapter…I just couldn't help myself XD Hope you all enjoy this chapter and make sure to read my other Andy Six story!**


	16. Chapter 16

Pulling Me Through Part Three

**Again, I apologise profusely for the late update. With the amount of stories that I am currently writing for, I can't update as often as I used to. I am also starting yet another one that is currently in the first stages of writing, so I've got a lot of work that I'm in the middle of doing, meaning that I have had to introduce a new system to ensure that every story gets updated regularly. This means that I will probably post a chapter a month. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter and please review! Oh, and RIP Mitch Lucker! Forever missed.  
**

**Lyrics: Thoughts running wild through the night as I watch you sleep. I can't help but check his texts while he's passed out next to me. I'm on some CSI behaviour, who's gonna save ya. You'll be the fool when the truth comes out.**

Chapter Sixteen

Andy's POV

I had been getting angrier and angrier later. My life a few weeks beforehand had been so amazing…almost surreal. There had been mornings when I woke up by Riley's side where I wasn't sure if it was even real. I couldn't believe my luck. I was in a band that was making it big, I had two beautiful kids and I was engaged to my gorgeous girlfriend. Bet you didn't think that life could get as good as that, right?

I didn't think it could either. But it all came crashing down on me as soon as things started to go a little wrong. One small thing had managed to put almost everything on hold. CC got in that stupid car accident and everything went downhill from there.

My wedding was put on hold, my band was put on hold, and Riley had practically disappeared because she was the one to look after CC, meaning that I was the one to look after the kids all the time. And I didn't have Scout or Jake's help either anymore because they had managed to escape this stupid situation.

Yes, I was being bitter pretty much all the time now and it was because I was growing annoyed and probably selfish. Even Savannah's cuteness failed to cheer me up sometimes.

"Daddy!" I heard her call as she came trotting into the living room with her Barbie in her hand. Oh joy. More time to play Barbie's with her. This was something that I just wasn't in the mood for. Usually Riley did this part of parenting because she knew how much I hated it, but she was out again with CC.

"Daddy's tired, Sav" I mumbled as I pulled her up onto the sofa with me. "Why don't we watch some television?" She nodded happily as I put on one of the kids channels. Thank God young children were so easy to keep entertained.

After what seemed like hours of watching kids shows, the front door finally cracked open and Riley stumbled in. She looked tired…probably spent all night at the hospital…again. She didn't say hello, didn't see Savannah. She simply walked straight up the stairs.

I knew that she only did that because she was so tired, not because she had some sort of vendetta against us, but the other part of me wanted to scream, to tell her how much she was hurting us. I place Savannah in the playpen and checked on Zane in the Moses basket before grabbing the baby monitor and taking it up with me. Hell, I may be angry, but I wasn't going to start being a bad father now.

My footsteps on the stairs were hard because I was hurrying. I marched straight into the bedroom and stopped in the doorway to see Riley already lying on the bed. Man, she looked so tired.

"What do you want?" She asked sleepily. That was all she had to say.

"We need to talk" I sighed. Talking looked as though it was the last thing that she wanted to do, but she reluctantly sat up in bed.

"What about?" She asked. Jesus, she didn't even have any clue that our relationship seemed to be hanging like a thread right now.

"About us" I answered as I crossed my arms over my chest, trying my best to keep my temper intact, but I knew it wasn't going to make that much of a difference, but it was still worth a try.

"What about us?" She questioned as she began to stand up. I guess she really hadn't had a clue why I was so angry. Funnily enough, that only served to my anger.

"We don't even talk anymore" I mumbled as my face set into a hard glare. God, the way I was looking at her right now, she probably thought that I hated her. I didn't want that, but I needed her to know how pissed I was feeling right now.

"Yes, we do talk" She argued. The tired look in her eyes vanished and a glare that matched mine was on her face. Man, she looked pissed. "How can you say that!?"

"Stop snapping" I grumbled. "I didn't want to argue."

"No, you fucking wanted to argue" She snapped. "So here it is" What the hell was wrong with her? I knew it would probably just be because she was exhausted and couldn't be bothered with this, but I took it a lot more personally.

"I don't want to argue" I shouted, completely contradicting myself. "You just need to sort out your fucking priorities! We may be getting married and everything, but we still need to work at this relationship. It's not working right now!"

"I am working at this relationship" She hissed defensively. "You try having to look after CC, look after two kids and keep a relationship working. It's hard."

"Well, you're only doing one out of those three" I bit. It was a low blow, but I couldn't stop it from coming out of my mouth. "You're not looking after the kids and you're not working at this relationship."

I instantly regretted everything I said once I saw the tears brim in her eyes. Oh, I knew straight away at that moment that I had hit a nerve. I wanted to take it back so bad, but I knew that she would not forgive at that moment.

Before I even had a chance to at least try and take it back, her hand connected with my face in a sharp slap. I looked down at the floor, more out of shame than the pain. What had I done? A voice inside my head told me that what I had just said could have absolutely killed everything. I sincerely hoped that it hadn't.

She looked at me with complete disgust etched on her face. "They are my babies" She reminded. "They are my life. And you're telling me that I don't look after them?"

"That's not what I meant" I tried to rectify, but she wasn't about to let this go."

"No, what about when you were on tour?" She questioned as he stony gaze fixed on me again. "Who was there for them? Me!" Everything she was saying made so much sense. Why had I even started this argument in the first place? She was obviously going to win it. After all, she had been the one by Savannah and Zane's side when I was on tour...acting as though I had no care in the world.

"All I'm saying is that we need each other right now" I sighed as I tried to fix her with a gaze that showed her how much I loved her. "I need you, Ry." Normally, she'd let it go at that point and we'd be madly in love again, but something told me that she wasn't going to forgive me as easily this time.

"Cut that bullshit, Andy" She snapped as she shook her head at me. Yep, looks like I was right. Whatever romantic thing I said to her now, she wasn't going to let it fool her. She hated me at that moment. She wanted me away from her and she wanted time to rant to herself about how much of a dick I had been to her and, to be honest, I didn't blame her for it. If I was her, I would be thinking the exact same thing.

"I just want to know what happened to us" I whispered. "We've been through so much. What more do we have to go through?" She laughed bitterly before shaking her head again.

"Get out, Andy" She demanded. Those foul words that I hoped she had would never say cut deep like a knife.

"I didn't want to argue" I sighed sadly. Why could my temper never be controlled?

"You reap what you sew, Andy" She spat before storming out of the bedroom, leaving me standing there feeling like a fool as I stared at where she had been standing.

_Riley's POV_

As soon as there was no way for Andy to see me, I allowed the tears to slide down my face. I refused to allow him to see this. I didn't want to give him the satisfaction… refused to let him believe that he had won that fight.

My mind was reeling as I went to sit in Jake's old room. How the hell had that even happened? Yeah, I knew that we had been having problems lately, but I had always believed that it was just a phase that couples go through and that we would be out of the woods in a matter of weeks if not days. I had never expected him to blow up at me like that. Never in a million year would I ever expect him to act like that.

His words had hurt me a hell of a lot. He knew how sensitive I was about being a good mother for the sheer fact that I wanted to be something to my children that I never had. Mine died when I was young. I wanted my kids to remember me as being supportive. Saying I was a bad mother who wasn't there for my children was simply the straw that broke the camel's back.

He had told me that he didn't want to argue and I full believed him, but that didn't stop me from wondering what was in store for our future. I knew that he would go straight back into the loving fiancée he had been before if I would only let him, but I also knew that if I did that, we would simply go back to that argument in a vicious circle. I couldn't let that happen. I couldn't put my children through this.

God, all I wanted was to marry him and for everything to go back to the way it was before we first had Savannah and Zane. Oh, those were the days. Those were the days when things weren't as hard for us. When we were just two kids madly in love with no consequences. But I couldn't even think of a life without my two kids.

Perhaps I wasn't the kind of person to deal with responsibility well…perhaps Andy was right… perhaps I was a bad mother. And just like that, the flood of tears came back.

**Ah, sorry for putting up such a frustrating and sad chapter. Regardless of the argument that they had, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I guess this is the part of the pulling me through series that has all the drama, ha ha. Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter and please leave a review on your way out. And if anyone has any ideas or constructive criticism please don't hesitate to tell me in a private message or review!**


	17. Chapter 17

Pulling Me Through Part Three

**Again, so sorry for taking so long to update. I've been revising so much for three exams that I have in January, so it's been pretty time consuming. Anyway, I hope everyone enjoys this chapter and please review! Oh, and Merry Christmas! I hadn't been planning on doing this, but think it's a good idea. This chapter will be the last one in this part and it will also be the last chapter in the series.**

**Lyrics: How can she be afraid of falling in love?**

Chapter Seventeen

Riley's POV

It had been a little over a month since our argument and I was absolutely stubborn at the fact that Andy and I were never going to get back together. Hell, I didn't even want to anymore. Well, that was a lie, but still. He had infuriated me. He'd pissed me off beyond belief. In what world can it be wrong to help someone who had been in hospital?

I was spending today like every other day since we argued…holed up in my room with Savannah and Zane. Once I was in there, I only needed to leave to get them food or put them down to sleep. Once I was in there. It was virtually impossible for anyone to reach me. I didn't anyone apart from my two babies.

Today was like any other day. I heard banging or some odd shouts from outside, but I didn't bother to go out and check what it was. I heard voices from downstairs happily talking about something that I didn't care about. It was only the group. They knew by now that I was never in the mood to talk about anything. So, I simply left them to it…didn't bother saying hello to them.

For an hour, the banging and the chatter continued before I heard a soft knock at the door. It cracked open an inch and Andy's head popped round. He gave me a warm smile that I didn't return before sitting on the floor next to my bed.

"Hey, Ry" He sighed. I didn't answer. Simply stared off past him and refused to make eye contact. "I want to show you something"

"I don't want to see it" I said…finally breaking the deafening silence. "Whatever it is, I don't want to fucking see it."

"You still want to marry me?" He asked as he grinned up at me. How could he find something like this amusing? Did our relationship or should I say lack of relationship not mean anything to him?

"What do you mean?" I asked as I fixed him with a stony glare.

"If you want to marry me, get your dress on and come downstairs" He laughed. "Ry, I love you. I acted like a dick and I have no idea why. All I know is that I want to see you in the white dress and I want to hear you say 'I do'" He sighed as he pressed his forehead against my own. As much as I had been saying I hated him, my heart was racing. Today was going to be the day we were going to get married. I hadn't even seen it coming.

Without letting my brain tell me otherwise, I leant forward and pressed my lips up against his own. His hand wrapped tightly around my waist, pulling me down to the floor with him. As my hand stroked his silky hair, I found myself realising that I had missed having the privilege.

"Of course I'll marry you"

Everything went like a blur as soon as I had said those words. Sammi and Sandra came bustling in with my dress and were practically stripping me off as Andy dropped a quick peck on my cheek.

"You're already wearing your dresses?" I questioned as I looked at them in confusion as they pulled my shirt over my head. Hell, they'd seen me having contractions…they could see me naked.

"Please, you and Andy are the best couple in the entire world. We trusted the fact that you were going to see yes." Sammi explained with a smirk. Scout was now in the room and was dressing Zane and Savannah. Sammi picked up the long, flowing dress that was had been my best purchase. I stepped into it as she pulled it up and zipped it up. She insisted on me being completely natural. A touch of makeup and a brush of my hair was all I needed. Within ten minutes, I was completely ready.

"Jesus, I got ready for my wedding in ten minutes" I laughed. "Must be a record."

"Good, now get your ass downstairs" Sandra ordered as she took Zane in her arms. He looked gorgeous in his little suit and Savannah looked simply stunning in her white dress. They hurried from the room, leaving me to have a moment of peace as I looked in the mirror at myself. The day I believed I would only ever get to dream of had finally arrived. All eyes were going to be on me and, for once, I was looking forward to it. With a grin, I walked downstairs and into the garden.

Andy's POV

Everyone was in their correct places. Jake was stood beside me and Zane in his arms with the rings. The seats were filled with our friends. This was without a doubt one of the best days of my entire life. Before I even had a chance to take in anything else, the music started. I kept my back turned to her, wanting to see her for the first time when she was standing by my side.

Riley's POV

It was beautiful. White seats sat behind Andy and a ridiculous amount of flowers were strewn around the garden. Scout and Sandra held the train of my dress as Sammi took her seat next to Jinxx. I hoped they would get back together. I walked up the aisle with pride on my face, loving the sight of Andy in front of me with his back turned to me.

Once I reached the top of the aisle, Andy turned to look at me, his jaw dropping as he drank me in. It felt nice to know that I had this effect on him.

"Are you ready to begin?" The priest asked. Andy and I simply nodded. "Greetings and welcome. We are gathered here today to celebrate the marriage of Andrew Dennis Biersack and Riley Jane Pitts. Andrew Dennis Biersack will you take Riley Jane Pitts to be your wife? Will you love her, comfort her, honour and protect her and forsaking all others to be faithful to her for as long as you both shall live?"

"I do" Andy declared a grin rising to his face.

"Riley Jane Pitts will you take Andrew Dennis Biersack to be your husband? Will you love him, comfort him, honour and protect him and forsaking all others to be faithful to him for as long as you both shall live?"

"I do" I repeated as I flashed Andy a smile. I couldn't believe this day was actually happening.

"Andy, repeat after me" The priest ordered. "I Andrew Dennis Biersack take you, Riley Jane Pitts"

"I Andrew Dennis Biersack take you, Riley Jane Pitts"

"To be my wife, my better half, and my best friend"

"To be my wife, my better half, and my best friend"

"I will cherish our friendship and love you today, tomorrow, and forever"

"I will cherish our friendship and love you today, tomorrow, and forever"

"I will hold gently the heart you have given to me"

"I will hold gently the heart you have given to me"

"And will always be open, honest, and faithful to you"

"And will always be open, honest, and faithful to you"

"I take you for my wife to have and to hold from this day forward"

"I take you for my wife to have and to hold from this day forward"

"For better or for worse"

"For better or for worse"

"For richer or for poorer"

"For richer or for poorer"

"In sickness and in health"

"In sickness and in health"

"To love and to cherish for all the days of my life"

"To love and to cherish for all the days of my life"

"Now Riley, repeat after me" He said as he turned to me. "I Riley Jane Pitts take you, Andrew Dennis Biersack."

"I Riley Jane Pitts take you, Andre Dennis Biersack."

"To be my husband, my better half, and my best friend"

"To be my husband, my better half, and my best friend"

"I will cherish our friendship and love you today, tomorrow, and forever"

"I will cherish our friendship and love you today, tomorrow, and forever"

"I will hold gently the heart you have given to me"

"I will hold gently the heart you have given to me"

"And will always be open, honest, and faithful to you"

"And will always be open, honest, and faithful to you"

"I take you for my husband to have and to hold from this day forward"

"I take you for my husband to have and to hold from this day forward"

"For better or for worse"

"For better or for worse"

"For richer or for poorer"

"For richer or for poorer"

"In sickness and in health"

"In sickness and in health"

"To love and to cherish for all the days of my life"

"To love and to cherish for all the days of my life"

"Andy, please take Riley's ring and as you place it on the ring finger of her left hand repeat after me" Andy took the ring from Zane and held it over my finger "With this ring I thee wed"

"With this ring I thee wed"

"Promising to love and respect you"

"Promising to love and respect you"

"Sharing good times and bad"

"Sharing good times and bad"

"In sickness and in health"

"In sickness and in health"

"Till death do us part"

"Till death do us part" With those final words, he pushed the ring down my finger.

"Riley, please take Andy's ring and as you place it on the ring finger of his left hand repeat after me" He said as I took the ring from Zane and copied Andy's movements.

"With this ring I thee wed"

"With this ring I thee wed"

"Promising to love and respect you"

"Promising to love and respect you"

"Sharing good times and bad"

"Sharing good times and bad"

"In sickness and in health"

"In sickness and in health"

"Till death do us part"

"Till death do us part" I pushed the ring down Andy's finger before giving him a warm smile.

"By the power vested in me by the state of Ohio, I now pronounce you man and wife" The priest smiled. "You may now kiss the bride" Andy's lips were rapidly on mine as he pressed kiss after kiss to my lips. "I now present to you Mr and Mrs Biersack"

Sammi's POV

Throughout the whole ceremony, I had been thinking about how much I wanted to get back together with Jinxx. I had missed him over the time that we had split for. I had missed his kisses and his romantic words. All I wanted was to feel his warmth as I fell asleep in his arms.

"Hey, do you want to get back together?" I asked as I tried to make it sound as casual as possible.

"Are you for real" He asked as his eyes went wide with shock. Oh, how I had missed how adorable he was. Without saying anything, I pressed my lips to his and grinned.

"I love you Jinxx" He simply wrapped his arms around me and nodded back.

Andy's POV

"Thanks for marrying me" I whispered to Riley as we stood at the buffet table. She grinned at me before pressing a quick kiss to my cheek.

"Thanks for making me Mrs Biersack" She laughed as she let her head rest on my shoulder.

"I love you, Ry" I mumbled as I kissed the top of her head.

"Hmm, I love you too"

**So, Pulling Me Through is officially over. Well, what did you think? It's been almost two years and it had honestly been a great time writing this story. I hope you have all enjoyed reading it and I just want to say a huge thank you to anyone who has supported this story. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!**


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